ECW News: Soldier’s Remains Recovered at Manassas to be Interred at Arlington
The remains of a U.S. soldier discovered on the Second Manassas battlefield are headed for reinterment at Arlington National Cemetery this fall.
The remains were discovered in March 2024 during ongoing archeological work on the battlefield, the second such time remains have been recovered from that specific site. Work began there in 2014 as part of a utility project, which uncovered what was eventually identified as a field hospital site, including a burial pit for amputated limbs.
The soldier who was discovered in March 2024 remains unidentified. While the cause of his death has not been definitively confirmed, the soldier did have a piece of case shot embedded in his neck—a likely reason for him to have been at the field hospital in the first place.
Scientists with the Smithsonian Institution—who have worked with the NPS to study the remains over the past two and a half years—have determined several other pieces of information about the soldier. For instance, they have determined his age as between 16–19 years old. Buttons found with the remains suggest the soldier was from New York. Historians are working to identify which regiments from New York were closest to that part of the battlefield, which may further help narrow down the soldier’s identity.
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act required “the archaeological study and documentation” of the remains so that scientists and historians could learn as much as possible from them. “Discoveries of human remains at these solemn spaces of sacrifice and service follow ethical guidelines for their treatment, documentation, and recovery,” the NPS say.
Now that study of the remains has yielded all the information it can, the Park Service will transfer the soldier’s remains to the Office of Army Cemeteries, which will oversee the burial at Arlington. Any additional research on the soldier or his remains can be done using data already collected or through historical research.
The Park Service announced the transfer on August 13, 2026.
For more on the history of the Manassas burial pit, click here.
For an in-depth scholarly treatment of the project, click here.
Wonderful work. I’m glad this soldier’s remains will finally get a dignified burial and rest among his comrades. Reminds me of the “Centreville Six,” casualties at Blackburn’s Ford, discovered in the ’90s. I wonder how many are out there still undiscovered.
Does anyone know when the reinterment will actually take place? I’m pretty close to the area and I’d like to be there if I can.
And DNA was not retrieved and tested because why? Letting the man be buried nameless? Like so many other nameless ACW soldiers buried in individual or mass graves. Real soldiers would mark the graves of fallen comrades, with rock, or with wooden markers or what was available. They would write back home and identify locations of buried friends. Why? So their comrade, who fought alongside them – the living, wouldn’t die unknown. Now his family of today cannot visit and express their pride in their fallen forefather. This wrong was bestowed upon thousands of young men who fought for what they thought was right. Even to right one wrong among those thousands is a Civil War victory, and victory is not always cheap. The opportunity was there, but were DNA professionals allowed an opportunity? Like the Battle of the Crater, those that were trained and equipped to resolve the problem were not part of the lead. Like the Battle of the Crater, a loss for the United States.