What would you do if you mistaken dug up a civil war grave ?

[boarman1]

Well me and my son have been hard at it looking for civil war relics and with no luck finding anything worth digging. LOL. But He said what happens if we dig up a grave or bones. It had me thinking what would most people do. I would probably just cover it back up with dirt and move on but what is the best thing to do if this happens. I dont want to bring in strangers and they make a big issue and ruin a property Im hunting on. I know the owner of the place has had people come from all over wanting to do more stories on his place but gave up years ago because it was starting to bring in even more people and he was tired of someone showing up at his door every day.

 

[NOLA_Ken]

Well the first thing to do is to tell the property owner. If it's on his land the final decision should be his.

But yeah, I'd recover it and mark the location.

 

[The Silver Pirate]

If the dirt is loosely packed, it may be fresh and you need to call the cops! Otherwise, I'd tell the land owner and probably the State Dept of Archives for a suitable person to call.

 

[usatc]

It's not an answer to your question but my dad told me a story back in the 50's when he was a boy. His grandfather was digging a well on their property in VA that had some civil war significance and came upon a skeleton w/a rusted musket. He threw away the musket (as it was junk back then) and reburied the soldier and dug elsewhere for the well.

Another interesting thing, my dad said that as kids they used to go out in the fields after plowing and gather up the lead to sell for scrap.

 

[Steveo]

Tell the property owner and hopefully they will contact the police.It would be a whole lot better if you never found any human remains EVER. I got my fingers crossed for ya.....................................

 

[cw0909]

may be some answers here for you,hopefully that will never happen
Department of Historic Resources, Cemetery Preservation and FAQs
PropertyProf Blog: Grave Matters: Accessing Cemeteries on Private Property

 

[boarman1]

Thanks. That helps a lot. I get to metal detect on some land that is suppose to have a lot of history on it and I had no idea what to do if this happen but most old graves are marked on the one property and they also have a fence around it so IM sure there want be any problem there.

may be some answers here for you,hopefully that will never happen
Department of Historic Resources, Cemetery Preservation and FAQs
PropertyProf Blog: Grave Matters: Accessing Cemeteries on Private Property

 

[usatc]

I don't have a detector and my story is second hand so I don't know any more details or thoughts behind my great grandfathers actions. But being prior service myself I especially hope that if encountered, that the right people get involved to recover any remains and give one of theses missing soldiers a proper burial.

 

[boarman1]

I will say the other property Im going to look at has several buried soilders and tombstones but the guy who is taking me said there is probably 15 other places that the ground it formed like where around 15 more people were buried but he doesnt metal detect . But his friend did and said close to there they found several buttons and bullets . THey stayed away from the graves just for the sake of maybe digging something up that shouldnt mess with . I think this place will be my best place ever to look for relics. There should be camp sites and a battle take place on this land. HE said there is trenches all around the edge of this hill so hopefully I find something good for a change.

I don't have a detector and my story is second hand so I don't know any more details or thoughts behind my great grandfathers actions. But being prior service myself I especially hope that if encountered, that the right people get involved to recover any remains and give one of theses missing soldiers a proper burial.