Nearly 30 Soldiers Finally Laid to Rest – This Discovery Will Shock You!

For decades, the cremated remains of over two dozen Civil War veterans were forgotten, sitting in storage at a Seattle funeral home and cemetery. Their simple copper and cardboard urns, labeled only with each soldier’s name, offered no clues about their wartime service. Yet, a group dedicated to honoring unclaimed veterans took on the task of uncovering these soldiers’ stories, confirming they were Union soldiers in need of a proper burial with military honors.

“It’s amazing that they were still there and we found them,” said Tom Keating, Washington state coordinator for the Missing In America Project, which relied on a team of volunteers to trace each soldier’s military history. “It’s something long overdue. These people have been waiting a long time for a burial.”

In August, most of the veterans were finally laid to rest at Washington’s Tahoma National Cemetery. The service honored each soldier in true Civil War fashion, with members of the historic 4th U.S. Infantry Regiment dressed in period uniforms firing musket volleys, and a heartfelt rendition of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” resonating through the crowd. Each name was called, followed by stories of bravery and sacrifice, before their remains were brought forward and buried.

Among the honored was a soldier who had survived captivity in Andersonville, a notorious Confederate prison, as well as others who had been wounded in pivotal battles like Gettysburg and the Atlanta campaign. One soldier’s life was saved by a pocket watch that deflected a bullet, while another had defected from the Confederate Army to join the Union forces.

The ceremony marked a poignant conclusion for these soldiers, yet the search for living descendants was fruitless. “It was something, just the finality of it all,” Keating said, reflecting on the event.

While some remains have been left in storage or misplaced at funeral homes, others are occasionally unearthed by Civil War reenactors combing through forgotten graveyards. Communities often turn these rediscoveries into momentous events, celebrating the service and memory of the veterans. In 2016, a motorcycle escort transported one veteran’s remains across the country from Oregon to Maine. In South Carolina, the remains of 21 Confederate soldiers were found beneath a military college’s football stadium and reburied in 2005.

Not all reburials are straightforward. When two soldiers’ remains were found at the Manassas National Battlefield in Virginia, families sought DNA testing to confirm identities. However, the Army rejected this request, and the soldiers were reinterred as unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.

Several of the Tahoma-buried veterans were later reconnected with distant relatives or communities on the East Coast. For instance, the remains of Byron Johnson, a hospital steward born in Pawtucket in 1844, were sent back to his hometown in Rhode Island. Johnson, who had moved west after the war, passed away in Seattle in 1913. Once back in Pawtucket, he received military honors at his family’s plot in Oak Grove Cemetery.

“When you have somebody who served in a war but especially this war, we want to honor them,” said Pawtucket Mayor Donald R. Grebien. “It became more intriguing when you think this individual was left out there and not buried in his own community.”

These burials serve as solemn reminders of the Civil War’s legacy, fought between the Union and the Confederacy at the cost of countless lives. “It was important to remind people not only in Pawtucket but the state of Rhode Island and nationwide that we have people who sacrificed their lives for us and for a lot of the freedoms we have,” Grebien added.

The burial of Johnson also brought together members of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, including Bruce Frail, who coordinated the service. His son, Ben, participated as a re-enactor, donning the attire of a Union Army captain.

“It’s the best thing we can do for a veteran,” said Bruce Frail. “The feeling that you get when you honor somebody in that way, it’s indescribable.”

Piecing together Johnson’s story fell to Amelia Boivin, a history enthusiast working in the Pawtucket mayor’s office. Boivin described the experience as “a resolution of sorts.” Her research revealed Johnson’s journey from Pawtucket to the West Coast, where he spent his later years as a druggist, working almost up until his passing. His story captivated the local community, shedding light on a man who otherwise would have been “lost to history.”