• CSS Albemarle, Albemarle type. Sunk by spar torpedo in Roanoke River near Plymouth NC 28 Oct 1864 (0 killed). Raised by Union 21 Apr 1865. Sold to be broken up 15 Oct 1867.
• CSS Arkansas, Arkansas type. Destroyed to prevent capture above Baton Rouge LA 6 Aug 1862. Wreck located in 1981 under a rock levee at Baton Rouge.
• CSS Atlanta. Captured by USS Weehawken and Nahant in Wassaw Sound near Savannah River 17 Jun 1863, taken into Union service; see USS Atlanta.
• CSS Baltic. Armor removed Jul 1864. Surrendered at Nanna Hubba Bluff in Tombigbee River AL 10 May 1865. Sold to be broken up 31 Dec 1865.
• CSS Charleston. Destroyed to prevent capture in Cooper River above Charleston Harbor 18 Feb 1865. Wreck removed shortly after 1870.
• “Cheops,” Stonewall type. Never delivered to the Confederacy; sold to Prussia 29 Oct 1865, named Prinz Adalbert. Sold to be broken up 1878.
• CSS Chicora, 150′ type. Destroyed to prevent capture in Cooper River above Charleston Harbor 18 Feb 1865. Wreck removed shortly after 1870.
• CSS Columbia. Ran hard aground on a sunken wreck near Fort Moultrie in Charleston Harbor on 12 Jan 1865. Refloated by Union 26 Apr 1865. Sold to be broken up 10 Oct 1867.
• CSS Eastport. Captured by Union while still incomplete 8 Feb 1862; see USS Eastport.
• CSS Fredericksburg. Destroyed to prevent capture in James River near Drewry’s Bluff 4 Apr 1865. Wreck still partially existing.
• CSS Georgia. Scuttled to prevent capture near Old Fort Jackson below Savannah 20 Dec 1864. Wreck still exists in poor to fair condition and some artifacts have been recovered.
• CSS Huntsville, Huntsville type. Scuttled in Spanish River above Mobile Bay 12 Apr 1865. Further fate unknown.
• CSS Jackson (“Muscogee”). Destroyed to prevent capture in Chattahoochee River 17 Apr 1865. Wreck raised in 1963 and is on display at Woodruff Museum (Confederate Naval Museum) in Columbus GA.
• CSS Louisiana. Destroyed to prevent capture near Fort St. Philip below New Orleans 28 Apr 1862. Wreck magnetically located 1981.
• CSS Manassas. Disabled, abandoned, burned, and sunk at the passing of the New Orleans forts 24 Apr 1862 (0 killed). Wreck magnetically located 1981.
• CSS Milledgeville. Destroyed to prevent capture when nearly complete near Savannah 20 Dec 1864. Further fate unknown.
• CSS Mississippi, “Laird ram.” Seized prior to completion by UK 9 Oct 1863; entered service with Royal Navy as HMS Wivern. Sold to be broken up 1922.
• CSS Mississippi. Burned and set adrift from New Orleans before completion 25 Apr 1862. Hulk floated down to Southwest Pass and grounded. Salvaged by Union and taken to Brooklyn Navy Yard for scrapping.
• CSS Missouri. Surrendered at Alexandria LA 3 Jun 1865. Sold to be broken up 29 Nov 1865.
• CSS Mobile. Destroyed before completion at Yazoo City MS 21 May 1863.
• CSS Nashville. Surrendered at Nanna Hubba Bluff in Tombigbee River AL 10 May 1865. Sold to be broken up 22 Nov 1867.
• CSS Neuse, Albemarle type. Destroyed to prevent capture in Neuse River near Kinston NC 14 Mar 1865. Wreck raised in 1964, on display at Kinston NC.
• CSS North Carolina, “Laird ram.” Seized prior to completion by UK 9 Oct 1863; entered service with Royal Navy as HMS Scorpion. Sunk as target ship at Bermuda 1901; further fate unknown.
• CSS North Carolina, 150′ type. Accidentally sank at moorings off Smithville NC (present day Southport) 27 Sep 1864. Partially salvaged by Confederates during war and again in 1868. Hulk burned 7 Sep 1871. Fragments still exist on bottom.
• CSS Palmetto State, 150′ type. Destroyed to prevent capture at mouth of Town Creek above Charleston Harbor 18 Feb 1865. Wreck removed prior to 1870.
• CSS Raleigh, 150′ type. Ran hard aground in Cape Fear River near New Inlet 7 May 1864. Wreck salvaged by Confederates. Fragments still exist on bottom.
• CSS Richmond, 150′ type. Destroyed to prevent capture in James River near Chaffin’s Bluff 3 Apr 1865. Wreck still partially existing.
• “Santa Maria” or “Frigate No. 61.” Never delivered to Confederacy; sold to Denmark December 1863, named Danmark. Sold to be broken up 1907.
• CSS Savannah, 150′ type. Destroyed to prevent capture near Savannah 21 Dec 1864. Further fate unknown.
• CSS Stonewall, Stonewall type. Sold to the Spanish Captain-General of Cuba at end of the war, turned over to USA. Sold to Shogun of Japan, renamed Kotetsu, arrived at Yokohama 24 Apr 1868, seized by Imperial forces. Service in Japanese Civil War (Meiji Restoration). Renamed Adzuma, 1871. Discarded 1888. Broken up 1908.
• CSS Tennessee, Arkansas type. Destroyed before completion at Memphis 5 Jun 1862.
• CSS Tennessee. Captured at Battle of Mobile Bay 5 Aug 1864, taken into Union service; see USS Tennessee.
• CSS Texas. Never completed.
• CSS Tuscaloosa, Huntsville type. Scuttled in Spanish River above Mobile Bay 12 Apr 1865. Further fate unknown.
• CSS Virginia II. Destroyed to prevent capture in James River near Drewry’s Bluff 3 Apr 1865. Wreck still partially existing.
• CSS Virginia. Destroyed to prevent capture near Craney Island VA 11 May 1862. Remains removed in 1870s.
• CSS Wilmington. Destroyed before completion Jan 1865.

Union Ironclads

• USS Agamenticus, Monadnock Class. Survived war. Renamed Terror 15 May 1869. Sold to be broken up 1874.
• USS Ajax (ex-Manayunk), Canonicus Class. Commissioned after war’s end. Sold to be broken up 10 Oct 1899.
• USS Atlanta (ex-CSS Atlanta). Survived war. Sold to Haiti 4 May 1869, renamed Triumph. Lost at sea off Cape Hatteras Dec 1869. Wreck has never been located.
• USS Baron de Kalb (ex-St. Louis), “City” Class. Struck a mine and sank in Yazoo River 13 Jul 1863 (0 killed). Wreck partially salvaged during war. Recently located, plans underway for partial salvage.
• USS Benton. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 29 Nov 1865.
• USS Cairo, “City” Class. Survived war. Stuck a mine and sank in Yazoo River 12 Dec 1862 (0 killed). Wreck located in 1956 and raised in 1965; from 1980 on display at Vicksburg MS.
• USS Camanche, Passaic Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 15 Feb 1899.
• USS Canonicus, Canonicus Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 19 Feb 1908.
• USS Carondelet, “City” Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 29 Nov 1865. Hull used as wharfboat on Ohio River until washed downstream in a flood Apr 1873. Remains destroyed by dredge 1982.
• USS Casco, Casco Class. Completed as torpedo boat. Renamed Hero 15 Jun 1869. Sold to be broken up 1 Apr 1875.
• USS Catawba, Canonicus Class. Never commissioned. Sold to Peru, renamed Atahualpa. Service in War of the Pacific. Scuttled at Callao 16 Jan 1880. Raised 1880 and hulked; discarded about 1910.
• USS Catskill, Passaic Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 4 Dec 1901.
• USS Chickasaw, Milwaukee Class. Survived war. Sold 12 Sep 74 at New Orleans to the New Orleans Pacific Railroad. Acquired by the Texas & Pacific Railroad in 1881 and converted to a sidewheel railroad ferry. Renamed Gouldsboro 1882. Rebuilt twice between 1881 and 1938; hull virtually replaced 1910. Active until 1941. Some discussion about making the ship into a museum at Mobile AL but nothing came of it; broken up 1944.
• USS Chillicothe. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 29 Nov 1865.
• USS Chimo, Casco Class. Completed as torpedo boat. Renamed Piscataqua 10 Aug 1869. Sold to be broken up 1874.
• USS Choctaw. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 28 Mar 1866.
• USS Cincinnati, “City” Class. Rammed and sunk at Battle of Plum Point Bend, 10 May 1862 (1 killed). Raised and repaired. Sunk by gunfire from Vicksburg 27 May 1863 (18 killed). Raised and repaired. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 28 Mar 1866; hull sank near Cache River below Mound City IL in 1866, further fate unknown.
• USS Cohoes, Casco Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up Jul 1874.
• USS Dictator. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 27 Sep 1883.
• USS Dunderberg. Never commissioned. Repurchased by builder 2 Mar 1867, sold to France July 1867, renamed Rochambeau. Sold to be broken up 1874.
• USS Eastport. Captured incomplete from Confederacy and completed by Union. Destroyed to prevent capture in Red River 26 Apr 1864. Recently located.
• USS Essex (ex-New Era). Survived war. Sold to be broken up 29 Nov 1865.
• USS Etlah, Casco Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up 12 Sep 1874.
• USS Galena. Armor removed mid-1863, recommissioned as a wooden sloop. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 1872.
• USS Indianola. Rammed and sunk near New Carthage MS 24 Feb 1863 (1 killed). Wreck refloated by Union forces 5 Jan 1865, sold to be broken up 19 Nov 1865.
• USS Iris (ex-Shiloh), Casco Class. Sold to be broken up 1874.
• USS Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Class. Never completed.
• USS Keokuk. Sank off Charleston 8 Apr 1863 after being struck over 90 times the previous day (0 killed). Both XI-inch Dahlgrens salvaged by Confederates 1 and 5 May 1863. Wreck probably still exists under silt off Sullivan’s Island; one Dahlgren on display at White Point Gardens (Battery Park) in Charleston.
• USS Kickapoo, Milwaukee Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 12 Sep 1874.
• USS Klamath, Casco Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up 12 Sep 1874.
• USS Koka, Casco Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up Oct 1874.
• USS Lafayette. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 28 Mar 1866.
• USS Lehigh, Passaic Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 14 Apr 1904.
• USS Louisville, “City” Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 29 Nov 1865.
• USS Mahopac, Canonicus Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 25 Mar 1902.
• USS Manhattan, Canonicus Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 24 Mar 1902.
• USS Marietta, Marietta Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up 12 Apr 1873.
• USS Miantonomoh, Monadnock Class. Commissioned after war’s end. Sold to be broken up 1874.
• USS Milwaukee, Milwaukee Class. Struck a mine and sank in Blakely River above Mobile Bay 28 Mar 1865 (0 killed). Wreck raised 1868 and scrapped; some iron may have been used to build Eads Bridge at St. Louis.
• USS Modoc, Casco Class. Completed as torpedo boat. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up Aug 1875.
• USS Monadnock, Monadnock Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 1874.
• USS Monitor. Sank in gale off Cape Hatteras, 31 Dec 1862 (16 killed). Wreck located September 1973, some artifacts recovered. Upside down and not in good condition.
• USS Montauk, Passaic Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 14 Apr 1904.
• USS Mound City, “City” Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 9 Nov 1865.
• USS Nahant, Passaic Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 16 Apr 1904.
• USS Nantucket, Passaic Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 14 Nov 1900.
• USS Napa, Casco Class. Completed as torpedo boat. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up 1875.
• USS Naubuc, Casco Class. Completed as torpedo boat. Renamed Minnetonka 10 Aug 1869. Sold to be broken up 1875.
• USS Nausett, Casco Class. Sold to be broken up Aug 1875.
• USS Neosho, Neosho Class. Survived war. Renamed Osceola 10 Aug 1869. Sold to be broken up 17 Aug 1873.
• USS New Ironsides. Survived war. Caught fire and burned up at League Island Navy Yard 16 Mar 1866 (0 killed). Remains sold to be broken up May 1867.
• USS Oneota, Canonicus Class. Never commissioned. Sold to Peru 2 Apr 1868, renamed Manco Capac. Service in War of the Pacific. Scuttled at Arica 7 Jun 1880.
• USS Onondaga. Survived war. Repurchased by builder 2 Mar 1867, sold to France. Sold to be broken up 1903.
• USS Osage, Neosho Class. Struck a mine and sank in Blakely River above Mobile Bay 29 Mar 1865 (4 killed). Raised after war. Hull sold 22 Nov 1867, became merchant ship. Possibly sunk in Sodo Lake near Shreveport LA May 1870. Further fate unknown.
• USS Ozark. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 29 Nov 1865.
• USS Passaconaway, Kalamazoo Class. Never completed.
• USS Passaic, Passaic Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 10 Oct 1899.
• USS Patapsco, Passaic Class. Struck a mine and sank in Charleston Harbor 15 Jan 1865 (62 killed). Hulk blasted by wreckers prior to 1870 and possibly again after 1870. Some scattered remains probably still exist between Forts Sumter and Moultrie.
• USS Pittsburg, “City” Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 29 Nov 1865. Hull used as wharfboat; abandoned on rock bar above Smithland KY Jun 1870; further fate unknown.
• USS Puritan. Never completed.
• USS Quinsigamond, Kalamazoo Class. Never completed.
• USS Roanoke. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 27 Sep 1883.
• USS Sandusky, Marietta Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up 12 Apr 1873.
• USS Sangamon, Passaic Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 16 Apr 1904.
• USS Saugus, Canonicus Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 15 Mar 1891.
• USS Shackamaxon, Kalamazoo Class. Never completed.
• USS Shawnee, Casco Class. Sold to be broken up Aug 1875.
• USS Squando, Casco Class. Renamed Algoma 10 Aug 1869. Sold to be broken up 1 Jul 1874.
• “Stevens Battery.” Never completed.
• USS Suncook, Casco Class. Sold to be broken up Aug 1875.
• USS Tecumseh, Canonicus Class. Struck a mine and sank at entrance to Mobile Bay 5 Aug 1864 (93 killed). Wreck located mid-1960s, some artifacts recovered. Mostly intact, though with a hole in the port bow and filled with mud and silt.
• USS Tennessee (ex-CSS Tennessee). Survived war. Sold to be broken up 27 Nov 1867.
• USS Tonawanda, Monadnock Class. Commissioned after war’s end. Renamed Amphitrite 15 May 1869. Sold to be broken up 1874.
• USS Tunxis, Casco Class. Renamed Otsego 10 Aug 1869. Sold to be broken up 1874.
• USS Tuscumbia. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 29 Nov 1865.
• USS Umpqua, Casco Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up 12 Sep 1874.
• USS Wassuc, Casco Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up 9 Sep 1875.
• USS Waxsaw, Casco Class. Never commissioned. Renamed Niobe 15 Jun 1869. Sold to be broken up 25 Aug 1875.
• USS Weehawken, Passaic Class. Accidentally sank near Charleston 6 Dec 1863 (31 killed). Wreckers salvaged engines and destroyed turret and pilothouse prior to 1870; remainder of wreck removed after 1870.
• USS Winnebago, Milwaukee Class. Survived war. Sold to be broken up 12 Sep 1874.
• USS Wyandotte (ex-Tippecanoe), Canonicus Class. Commissioned atfer war’s end. Sold to be broken up 17 Jan 1899.
• USS Yazoo, Casco Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up 5 Sep 1874.
• USS Yuma, Casco Class. Never commissioned. Sold to be broken up 12 Sep 1874.

Legal records pertaining to people that lived along the Of any navigable waterway the United States, including lakes, rivers, and anals, are likely to be found in admiralty courts. In addition to dockets and case files, a researcher may find evidence such as ship registers, licenses, crew lists, manifests, passenger lists, seamen’s contracts, logbooks, and other correspondence carried by ships.

Records from American admiralty as courts, as well as some English records obtained during the American Revolution, can be found in most branches of the National Archives. Pre-colonial records can sometimes be found in England as well.

To learn more try these books:

• Andrews, Charles M. The Colonial Period of American History. Vol. 4: England’s Commercial and Colonial Policy
  . New Haven: Yak University Press, 1938.
• Eakle, Arlene H “Research in Court Records.” The Source: A Guidebook Of American Genealogy (Third Edition)
  . Rev. ed. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1997.
• Szucs, Loretto Dennis, and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking. Archives: A Guide to the National Archives Field Branches
  . Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1988.
• Towle, Dorothy S. Records of the Vice-Admiralty Court of Rhode Island 1716-1752
  . Washington, D.C.:  American Historical Association Committee Legal History, 1939.
• Ubbelhide, Carl. The Vice-Admiralty Courts and the American Revolution
  . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1960.

As events unfolded, African Americans constituted a potential source of willing manpower for the Continental Army, but congress and many state political establishments loathed tapping them into them, for political and economic reasons. The southern colonies, where the bulk of the African American population was concentrated, were indelibly intertwined in issues relating to slavery and proved reluctant to sacrifice these economic benefits. Plantation owners were also unwilling to see slaves armed and trained for fear of fomenting an insurrection. For this reason Congress initially outlawed the recruitment of slaves into the armed forces and depended solely upon white volunteers. General George Washington, upon assuming command of Continental forces at Cambridge in July 1775, took this exclusion a step further and forbade the recruitment of blacks in general, slave and free alike. However, as manpower shortages became chronic due to lack of white volunteers, the prospect of African American recruitment became much more palatable, at least in the northern colonies. Several blacks were also successfully employed as spies, with James Lafayette being the most conspicuous example. 

Ironically, the first African American military unit was recruited by Governor John Murry, Lord Dunmore, of Virginia, who issued a proclamation emancipating any slave who joined the British side. Consequently, around 300 former slaves were enrolled in the “Ethiopian Regiment”, which campaigned in Virginia until the British were finally expelled in the spring of 1776. Thereafter, it became standard British policy to recruit blacks for military for service in exchange for freedom, especially in the south. By wars end , the bulk of these were evacuated and resettled in Canada or the West Indies. 

The United States promulgated no consistent policy toward African Americans, and hence many blacks were allowed to serve in the ranks, frequently as paid substitutes for unwilling whites. After 1776, when Congress authorized creation of 88 battalions of troops, state officials simply glossed over the fact that blacks were enlisted whenever the white population failed to provide its quota of troops. Once manpower levels became critical, Washington reversed himself, and on January 2, 1777, he authorized the enlistment of free blacks wherever possible. The practice was most prevalent in New England, where slavery was weakest, and African Americans joined in comparatively large numbers. 

The famous unit to emerge from such practices was the 1st Rhode Island Light Infantry Regiment under Colonel Christopher Greene, which was racially mixed, if heavily black, and led by white company-grade officers. They distinguished themselves during the Battle of Rhode Island on August 29, 1778, and repelled several determined Hessian attacks. All told, by war’s end most American units had armed blacks marching directly in the ranks and , when permitted to serve, theey did so with distinction. Many of these soldiers were consequently manumitted from slavery in exchange for their military service. 

The Armies of Spain and France had no such prohibitions against black enlistment, and both Governor Bernardo de Galvez and Admiral Charles-Hector-Theodat, comte d’Estaing, employed considerable numbers of French- and Spanish-speaking blacks in Louisiana, at the siege of Savannah, and elsewhere. In 1779 South Carolina representative and army officer John Laurens extolled the virtues of black soldiery and urged the governments of his native state and Georgia to recruit large numbers of slave’s into the army in exchange for freedom. It was a viable plan to address the chronic manpower shortages, but deep-seated enmity toward African Americans precluded its   adoption. African Americans enlisted in the military faced varying degrees of racial discrimination that militated against promotions and occupations held. Conditions proved far more accommodating in the Continental Navy, state navies, and in privateering, where far less emphasis was placed on race than ability. For many years prior to the Revolution, many free blacks and former slaves were attracted to service in either the merchant marine or the Royal Navy because harsh living conditions aboard were still better than those encountered on land. Consequently, ship crews frequently contained a much higher percentage of  African Americans as pilots, cooks, and gun crewmen, and they served throughout the war.

By 1783 around 5,000 African Americans had served in either the Continental army or navy, acquitting themselves well. They filled a critical niche in manpower needs, anticipating the role they would perform 80 years later during the Civil War, when liberty, denied them during the Revolutionary War, was finally realized.

• Run the cursor over the photograph and the picture.
• Caption will pop up.
• Click  photo to enlarge.

Truly fortunate that so many of these have survived. Probably a million wet plate photos were made during  the civil war on glass plate.  Popular during the war, they  lost their appeal afterwards and so many were sold for the  glass.  Many used in green houses. Over the years the sun  caused the images to disappear.

A compendium of photos from the Civil War  era “Original Civil War Pictures”_
http://www.mikelynaugh.com/VirtualCivilWar/New/Originals2/index.html

The photographs below cover British prisoners held in the United States due to the War of 1812. This includes not only Army and Navy prisoners but also those taken on merchant vessels and privateers. The listing is by first letter of the surname only e.g Brown, John might be followed by Black, Charles.In total some 15,000 names are registered.

The site is at http://www.1812privateers.org/GB/Prisoners.htm . The rootsweb mail list post also states they hope to have Americans in British P.O.W. camps up soon. I cant wait for that one……

The Battle of Chickamauga hold special significance with my ancestry. I had at least 4 direct and 10 brothers of the direct ancestors that fought in the battle. My wifes side had at least 6 and 1 Union soldier from New York that deserted sometime after the battle and later became her GGGrand Father.

The Union soldier on my wife’s side was William A Hamilton from Genesee Co., New York. On my side, my GGGrand Father Leroy Calvin Bedwell and 2 brothers fought with Company I of the 19th Alabama Infantry Regiment. Leroys brother Thomas was wounded 5 times in the battle and was an invalid the rest of his life.

But what is special about this 145th reenactment is that it is supposed to be the largest yet. You can also purchase a ride on a period train and follow some of the route the Army of Northern Virginia took to get there. I will be there with my brother and sons to get a glimpse into what my ancestors saw that day 145 years ago, albeit without the horror and fear that they might have experienced.The Reenactment will be on September 19th, 20th and 21st.

If you live in the southeast and want to attend their website is at http://www.battleofchickamauga.net/

They list some of their Feature Databases which are:

• U.S. Navy Cruise Books – Yearbook-style books detailing sailors and others on board U.S. navy ships, dating from 1940
• WWII Missing in Action or Lost at Sea – More than 80,000 names of Military Personnel reported Missing in Action or Buried at Sea during WWII
• Headstones Provided for Deceased Union Civil War Veterans, 1879-1903 – Details for more than 166,000 gravestones provided by the government for deceased Union veterans
• U.S. War Bounty Land Warrants – Over 76,000 Bounty land warrants issued between 1789-1858 to veterans of the U.S. Revolutionary War and the War of 1812
• U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914 – Records detailing personal information about men who enlisted in the U.S. Army from 1798-1914
• World War I Draft Registration Cards – Draft registration cards for more than 24 million men who registered for the WWI draft in 1917 and 1918
• World War II Draft Registration Cards – Almost 6 million draft cards of men who registered for the fourth WWII draft in 1942
• U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records – Collection of more than 8 million names of U.S. Army enlistees during WWII, 1938-1946
• U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 – Collection of military service records, containing more than 6 million names of servicemen – Union and Confederate – who fought in the U.S. Civil War, 1860-1865
• U.S. Veterans Gravesites ca. 1775-2006 – Burial and grave site information for almost 3.5 million veterans of the U.S. military, 1775-2006

Obviously they have many more databases span all the Major conflicts the U.S. has been in. It is well worth the time to browse their stuff while it is open to the public.

By MELANIE DABOVICH, Associated Press writer

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Working in secret, federal archaeologists have dug up the remains of dozens of soldiers and children near a Civil War-era fort after an informant tipped them off about widespread grave-looting.

The exhumations, conducted from August to October, removed 67 skeletons from the parched desert soil around Fort Craig — 39 men, two women and 26 infants and children, according to two federal archaeologists who helped with the dig.

They also found scores of empty graves and determined 20 had been looted.
The government kept its exhumation of the unmarked cemetery near the historic New Mexico fort out of the public’s eye for months to prevent more thefts.

The investigation began with a tip about an amateur historian who had displayed the mummified remains of a black soldier, draped in a Civil War-era uniform, in his house.
Investigators say the historian, Dee Brecheisen, may have been a prolific looter who spotted historical sites from his plane. Brecheisen died in 2004 and although it was not clear whether the looting continued after his death, authorities exhumed the unprotected site to prevent future thefts.

“As an archaeologist, you want to leave a site in place for preservation … but we couldn’t do that because it could be looted again,” Jeffery Hanson, of the Bureau of Reclamation, told The Associated Press.

The remains are being studied by Bureau of Reclamation scientists, who are piecing together information on their identities. They will eventually be reburied at other national cemeteries.
Most of the men are believed to have been soldiers — Fort Craig protected settlers in the West from American Indian raids and played a role in the Civil War. Union troops stationed there fought the Confederacy as it moved into New Mexico from Texas in 1862.
The children buried there may have been local residents treated by doctors at the former frontier outpost, officials said.

Federal officials learned of the looting in November 2004, when Don Alberts, a retired historian for Kirtland Air Force Base, tipped them off about a macabre possession he’d seen at Brecheisen’s home about 30 years earlier.

Alberts described seeing the mummified remains of a black soldier with patches of brown flesh clinging to facial bones and curly hair on top of its skull. Alberts said the body had come from Fort Craig.
“The first thing we did was laughed because who would believe such a story,” Hanson said. “But then we quickly decided we better go down and check it out.”

Weeks later, Hanson and fellow archaeologist Mark Hungerford surveyed the cemetery site and found numerous holes — evidence of unauthorized digging.

While records show the cemetery had been disinterred twice by the Army in the late 1800s, it wasn’t known how many bodies remained. Hanson said ground-penetrating radar revealed the Army left behind about one-third of the bodies.

A lack of funding and various federal procedures delayed the excavation until last summer.
Brecheisen’s son told authorities where the mummified remains from his father’s home were, and a person who hasn’t been publicly identified handed over a more-than-century-old skull packaged in a brown paper bag. Alberts said that skull, which still had hair attached, was the one he’d seen years earlier.

Authorities also found some Civil War and American Indian artifacts in Brecheisen’s home, but the display rooms that showcased Brecheisen’s collections had already been emptied out and auctioned off by his family after his death, Hanson said. Investigators believe Brecheisen did most of his looting alone, but they also know he dug with close friends and family at the Fort Craig site. Some who accompanied him led authorities to the grave sites, Hanson said. Brecheisen was a decorated Vietnam veteran and flew for the Air National Guard during a 26-year military career. His family described him as “one of the state’s foremost preservationists of historical facts and sites” in his obituary. Those close to Brecheisen said his looting may have been motivated by anger toward the Bureau of Land Management, but no further details were available. Alberts described him as a collector; it wasn’t clear whether Brecheisen sold any of the items.

Investigators believe he also dug up grave sites in Fort Thorn and Fort Conrad in southern New Mexico as well as prehistoric American Indian burial sites in the Four Corners region. Hungerford said they also believe he may have taken the Fort Craig burial plot map, which is missing from the National Archives. The criminal case against Brecheisen was closed upon his death and there are no plans to investigate his family members, assistant U.S. Attorney Mary McCulloch said. Alberts said he asked Brecheisen to come clean. “I had urged him to simply return the remains, about 10, 15 years before he got ill. I offered to act as an honest broker to the deal and see that they were returned, but I didn’t get a response,” Alberts said. “I didn’t want to get a friend in trouble.” He added: “But you look back and think you would have done everything differently if you would have known everything was going to disappear.”

As we approach the bicentennials of both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis,  Alexander Street Press is offering free access to some of our  most popular collections. Through April 30, 2008 you can explore three  of our Civil War databases with no restrictions. As a bonus, we are  also offering free access to two streaming music databases, which contain  songs from the Civil War era. No registration is required.

I was presently surprised by what I found. It somewhat reminded me of the Civil Wars Soldiers and Sailors System that I use quite a bit. The difference is that The database is a little easier to navigate and read & has a few more the CWSSS does not have. I have enjoyed viewing many of the other features like the songs, letters and diaries. According to the site these databases are only open free till April 30th. The address is
http://alexanderstreet.com/resources/civilwar.access.htm

I could not find a pricing area to see how much this would cost normally though.  So enjoy it while you can. I know I will.