Rare Letters from Kin of Missing Soldiers Are Donated to Gettysburg Museum

In 1866, a former Confederate officer named Robert H. Dungan contacted a doctor in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to seek help in locating the grave of his deceased brother, Thomas, who had been killed during the Civil War battle there three years prior. Dungan, from Southwest Virginia, was searching for his brother's remains, who had been a schoolteacher with a wife and small daughter.

Thomas's grave may have been near a stone house, beneath a peach tree, and marked with a wooden board bearing his name, "Serg't T.W. Dungan, Co. D, 48th Va." Dungan offered to pay the doctor for his assistance.

These letters, now donated to the Gettysburg Beyond the Battle Museum, provide rare insights into the personal experiences of families mourning their lost loved ones during the Civil War. They offer a glimpse into the human side of the conflict, contrasting with purely military narratives. The correspondence reveals the lengths to which Southern relatives went to recover their fallen soldiers' remains.

Many Confederates were buried separately or in mass graves, while Union soldiers had their bodies gathered and eventually interred in a newly established national cemetery.

One letter from the collection details the case of Pvt. John Micajah Goetchius of Columbus, Georgia, whose remains were found and returned to his family. Another recounts the efforts of a woman from Portsmouth, Virginia, who sent a picture of Col. James G. Hodges, 33, of the 14th Virginia Regiment, in hopes it may aid in identifying his body after his death.

Additionally, Mary L. Jones of Columbus, Georgia, sought help from Dr. O'Neal in 1865 to identify her husband, Col. John Augustus Jones, 41, who was killed during the battle. She had four children and wanted to personally examine the body to ensure it was indeed her husband's.