Lunch and Learn: Of Skulls and Skeletons: Burial Practices and Battlefield Cleanup During the American War of Independence

This summer we’re looking back at the Revolutionary War with our exhibition Hamilton Heroes and Villains, in honor of the musical Hamilton’s return to the Bushnell. Beyond the flashy costumes and musical drama, what was it really like to fight in the war? In this noontime talk, historian Robert A. Selig takes a look at one of the darkest sides of any battle: the clean-up.

Battlefield clean-up is a topic rarely covered by modern historians, yet following almost any military engagement, there are corpses to dispose of. Who does that? Can we tell who buried whom? When? How many hours, days, months later? Where? Individually or in mass graves? In natural crevices? Lakes? Naked or dressed? Officers and other ranks together or separate? How long do they remain in the ground? Are they ever found? Who would dig them up and why? Can we identify them? What happens with the skeletons?

This talk is free and online. Click here to register via Yapsody. When you register, you will get a confirmation email with an e-ticket attached. The Zoom link is in that e-ticket.

Questions? Contact Jen Busa, Special Events Coordinator, at [email protected].

About the Speaker
Robert A. Selig is an independent historical consultant and author who serves as project historian to the National Park Service for the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail.

Image: George Moutard Woodward, “The beauties of War!” (S. W. Fores, 1799), Brown University Library