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So possibly to this day there are many British soldiers buried in unmarked mass graves is what your thinking then?
I defer to NGGOAT on that question. However you have to note that battle deaths were really insignificant against deaths by disease and accidents. In those cases the dead would be buried near camp in I would assume a makeshift cemetary, probably long since developed over.
But, know this - The British Army of the 18th century was a state of the art (for that time) model of beuracracy and professionalism (as compared to the Continental Army). In most cases events were meticolously documented for various records and reports. I would venture to guess that many graves, but individual and mass, and their locations, are recorded in some very old documents somewhere. Maybe long since forgotten, but I don't doubt they exist in some stuffy vault in London.
War is hell and time passes on and while they may have been the enemy as well as i'm sure that i'm biased do to my paternal British heritage during that war however none the less that's kinda sad to think about many of them are buried underneath houses.
Anyway informative as always NJG as i appreciate the info that you passed along here.
That reminds me of the movie about the haunting where they were digging a pool and the spectre of the native chief was seen. Spielberg did it. I wonder if a neighbor dug down for some reason and found bones and the found out it would be problematic to some.
On the topic of random British graves (and American ones) from the Revolution popping up, that certainly happens. Like Dd714 said, most deaths were from disease or post battle from wounds, so many times there was some formal mass grave or cemetery used, especially in church yards. However, most battle dead ended up being buried on the field in unmarked graves and these are spread all over wherever there were battlefields.
I posted about the ones found in Charlestown, MA from the Battle of Bunker Hill that were literally found under peoples homes and in their backyards, 230+ years after the battle. Similar graves have been found in Princeton, in modern towns along the Brandywine and some were recently turned up in the King of Prussia area in PA when an old tavern was being moved to make way for a highway.
The British Army of the 18th century was a state of the art (for that time) model of beuracracy and professionalism (as compared to the Continental Army). In most cases events were meticolously documented for various records and reports. I would venture to guess that many graves, but individual and mass, and their locations, are recorded in some very old documents somewhere. Maybe long since forgotten, but I don't doubt they exist in some stuffy vault in London.
Yeap i'll search into that online and see what i come up with as well as if there are records of all who served in the british army back then as i'm sure that i had relatives fight for Great Britain since our ''american patriarch'' william immigrated from Plymouth, England to South Carolina just after the war in 1789 although i admit that i would just be guesing if i found soldiers with our family surname from Devon County who fought over here back then.
On the topic of random British graves (and American ones) from the Revolution popping up, that certainly happens. Like Dd714 said, most deaths were from disease or post battle from wounds, so many times there was some formal mass grave or cemetery used, especially in church yards. However, most battle dead ended up being buried on the field in unmarked graves and these are spread all over wherever there were battlefields.
I posted about the ones found in Charlestown, MA from the Battle of Bunker Hill that were literally found under peoples homes and in their backyards, 230+ years after the battle. Similar graves have been found in Princeton, in modern towns along the Brandywine and some were recently turned up in the King of Prussia area in PA when an old tavern was being moved to make way for a highway.
I know that the British Commander in Chief of North America General Braddock during the French and Indian War has his gravesite at Fort Necessity Pennsylvannia however i realise that was before the revolution.
And if the Sharpe novels are even close to go reality, many of the British soldiers didn't really have homes to go back to, having grown up in some orphanage or workhouse, or just living on the street. So there would have seemed little point in repatriating their bodies.
And if the Sharpe novels are even close to go reality, many of the British soldiers didn't really have homes to go back to, having grown up in some orphanage or workhouse, or just living on the street. So there would have seemed little point in repatriating their bodies.
It was a grim old world.
Even if the style is hard to read, Dickens should be required reading. You can read about the dark world, but his characters give it a living point of view. The BBC productions were also very good. I noticed that the sky in Little Dorrit was always grey and smokey, which was true as it was surrounded by early smelting and industry. It's a metaphore for the reality of life then. The poor were considered disposable and a menace. At least in the army they had food and a place to sleep. I wonder how many stayed behind, especially those made prisoners of war who were often given the choice.
And if the Sharpe novels are even close to go reality, many of the British soldiers didn't really have homes to go back to, having grown up in some orphanage or workhouse, or just living on the street. So there would have seemed little point in repatriating their bodies.
It was a grim old world.
Yeah i'm sure that definately happened along with numerous british deserters (i've been searching the web for those soldiers names) as well as numerous loyalists who'd left America only to repatriot back home after the war's ending however i found an interesting Revolutionary War blog site that i read from time to time called Redcoat 76 which features survived letters from common enlisted british soldiers writing back home who mentioned how they missed their wives and children and those from the countryside were anxious as to who were working the fields on their farms etc. Some even had been enlisted since after the Seven Years War (stationed in canada and parts of europe) and were staying on just so that they could recieve a military pension after 20 years of service. One enlisted soldier (John Workman 17th Regiment of Foot) mentioned that when discharged in 1791 aged 52 years old that his military pension was high enough in that he didn't have to worry about going back to his pre-military trade as a cobbler to survive.
Yeah i'm sure that definately happened along with numerous british deserters (i've been searching the web for those soldiers names) as well as numerous loyalists who'd left America only to repatriot back home after the war's ending however i found an interesting Revolutionary War blog site that i read from time to time called Redcoat 76 which features survived letters from common enlisted british soldiers writing back home who mentioned how they missed their wives and children and those from the countryside were anxious as to who were working the fields on their farms etc.
Do you have a direct link to that blog? I tried to Google it, but didn't find anything.
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