Battles of Manassas • Tour the Battlefield • Monuments • The Armies
The “Re-Burying the Dead” wayside marker is at Groveton Confederate Cemetery, Stop 8 on the Manassas Battlefield Driving Tour.
Text from the wayside marker:
Re-Burying the Dead
Groveton Confederate Cemetery
Of the 266 soldiers buried here, only two are fully identified.
Heavy fire often kept either side from claiming the dead, and after both battles the armies had to maneuver quickly. Some of the wounded lay for days in the blistering sun.
After the fighting, burial details dug shallow, unmarked graves. The process took weeks. Autumn rains soon washed away the thin cover of soil, exposing the remains. In 1866, the United Daughters of the Confederacy established Groveton Cemetery and had these remains reinterred here.
Captions on the right:
Unburied dead near Deep Cut, a year after the battle.
A “Harpers Weekly” magazine correspondent wrote: “In the long, luxuriant grass one strikes his foot against skulls and bones, mingled with the deadly missiles that brought them to the earth. Hollow skulls lie contiguous to the hemispheres of exploded shells.”
Battlefield graves were unmarked, or identified with sticks, headboards, or branches. Hundreds of soldiers received no burial at all.
Location of the “Re-Burying the Dead” wayside marker
The marker is about 110 yards east of the parking area for Stop Eight. It is at the southwest corner of the fenced area of the cemetery, right next to the path from the parking area. (38°48’49.4″N 77°32’46.4″W)