Three Decades of Identification: Advances in Civil War Bioarchaeology

Summary

In 1988, archaeologist Stephen Potter supervised the excavation of four battlefield burials found by relic collectors on the Roulette farm of Antietam Battlefield. Archival research into the discovery location, and the analysis of the artifacts and meager bone fragments, linked these men to the Irish Brigade. Nearly thirty years later, Civil War human remains continue to be the subject of inquiry. This review cites examples from several Civil War sites and contexts to illustrate how the process of identifying historic military remains, sometimes by name, has advanced. While a myriad of chemical analyses including stable isotopes, heavy metals testing and DNA are now part of the forensic anthropology toolkit, identification still often remains contingent on dogged persistence as exemplified by the successes of Potter and others like him dedicated to investigating our nation’s past. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Potomac Pasts: Papers Honoring the Career of NPS Archeologist Dr. Stephen R. Potter   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 500