ord.sgt.26NC
Gott mit uns!
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2005
- Location
- Goldsboro
Went out to help exhume 2 brothers that died early in 1862.One was in company D (Wake Guards) of the regiment we portray.He died of pnuemonia while in camp.His brother passed away around the same time while working in a hospital in Raliegh.Unfortunatly no immediate family members have been found so the owners of the land decided to remove the remains before he died and the land was sold to developers.Local members of our group(26 N.C.) took it and worked it out to re-intern them in the Confederate section of Oakwood Cem. next month.Channel 14 was there and it's on the news.This was on Trinity Road out by the RBC Center.
There was a crowd of us and we split in two teams.Myself and a friend were there to run metal detectors.I wound up working on the soldier's grave first.Since I dig for a living,I stayed in the hole for a right long time probing and digging with a retired gentleman from Garner in the excavation with me.Man we moved some dirt in a short amount of time.Alot of oak roots had to be cut out from a large tree that was at their feet.At the 4.5 foot level,We started making out the lines to the box.The lid had collapsed I would think shortly after being burried.All the remains were compressed into a space of about 4 inches thick.The lid was mostly rotted away as were the sides,the bottom was in fairly good shape.
When we established the outline of the box,we let the next team take over the actual removal of any remains.They used trowels and buckets to remove the contents and bring them up to the surface.Then the dirt was scanned with a metal detector and then sifted with all wood and discolored dirt being placed in a new wooden casket.
The first metallic items to pop up were pewter drawer pull style fasteners with iron screws out the back.Not sure what these were used for.Then somebody hollered out about a button.Sure enough one of the B team had eyeballed a uniform button.Then in the next few buckets that came up,Billy found 4 more with his metal detector.In total 8 N.C. one piece "sunburst" buttons came up some complete with cloth.Then small glas buttons poped up either from his shirt or underwear.They even found a clay lump that had the impression of his suspenders in it. Other than the metal items and the wood from the box, NOTHING and I repeat nothing human came out.Everything in the 4 inch wide section that was the box was excavated and put into a new coffin.And that was that for one Hollomon.Only metal items,no bones or tissue.Atleast he was burried in his uniform.I had figured he would have been stripped of it at the hospital where he died.
The brother who worked in a hospital had alot less in the way of metal items.A suspender clip,some silver washed suspender snaps and a gilted cuff link.His human remains were compressed in the small 4 inch wide area too but we did find one tooth.Again we removed the 4 inch wide area that consisted of the box and put it in his own coffin.He was a mason so mason's worked on his grave and the masonic emblem was put on his coffin.Both graves wound up being 5 foot in total depth.
What I learned to day is when it all comes down to it,we will all be compressed into a 4 inch wide layer of discolored dirt.In my mind it kind of makes me figure that the small shit in life just ain't worth worrying about.
There was a crowd of us and we split in two teams.Myself and a friend were there to run metal detectors.I wound up working on the soldier's grave first.Since I dig for a living,I stayed in the hole for a right long time probing and digging with a retired gentleman from Garner in the excavation with me.Man we moved some dirt in a short amount of time.Alot of oak roots had to be cut out from a large tree that was at their feet.At the 4.5 foot level,We started making out the lines to the box.The lid had collapsed I would think shortly after being burried.All the remains were compressed into a space of about 4 inches thick.The lid was mostly rotted away as were the sides,the bottom was in fairly good shape.
When we established the outline of the box,we let the next team take over the actual removal of any remains.They used trowels and buckets to remove the contents and bring them up to the surface.Then the dirt was scanned with a metal detector and then sifted with all wood and discolored dirt being placed in a new wooden casket.
The first metallic items to pop up were pewter drawer pull style fasteners with iron screws out the back.Not sure what these were used for.Then somebody hollered out about a button.Sure enough one of the B team had eyeballed a uniform button.Then in the next few buckets that came up,Billy found 4 more with his metal detector.In total 8 N.C. one piece "sunburst" buttons came up some complete with cloth.Then small glas buttons poped up either from his shirt or underwear.They even found a clay lump that had the impression of his suspenders in it. Other than the metal items and the wood from the box, NOTHING and I repeat nothing human came out.Everything in the 4 inch wide section that was the box was excavated and put into a new coffin.And that was that for one Hollomon.Only metal items,no bones or tissue.Atleast he was burried in his uniform.I had figured he would have been stripped of it at the hospital where he died.
The brother who worked in a hospital had alot less in the way of metal items.A suspender clip,some silver washed suspender snaps and a gilted cuff link.His human remains were compressed in the small 4 inch wide area too but we did find one tooth.Again we removed the 4 inch wide area that consisted of the box and put it in his own coffin.He was a mason so mason's worked on his grave and the masonic emblem was put on his coffin.Both graves wound up being 5 foot in total depth.
What I learned to day is when it all comes down to it,we will all be compressed into a 4 inch wide layer of discolored dirt.In my mind it kind of makes me figure that the small shit in life just ain't worth worrying about.
