One of the images downloadable from the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs section online is an early picture of a ring of gravestones, labeled "Soldiers Cemetery, near Fort Stevens, Brightwood, D.C., August 1865." Brightwood is the neighborhood within Washington, D. C. and the cemetery is today called "Battleground National Cemetery." There are about 35 gravestones visible in the photo but reportedly 40 or 41 soldiers who died at the Battle of Ft. Stevens were buried there, as were some members of the caretaker's family, later. It is one of the nation's smallest national cemeteries and was personally dedicated by President Lincoln, who was at the battle. If you want to read the inscriptions or see any of the details in these photos up close, be sure to download the highest-density TIFF version. The names visible in this picture are: A. Ashbough, Co. H, 61st PA; J. Dolan, Co. D., 2d MA; Lt. W. B. McLaughlin, Co. B, 61st PA; A. Manning, Co. H., 77th NY; --- Owen, ---- NY; A. Mosier, Co. C, 22nd NY; and A. Matott--, Co. G, 77th NY. The call number for this photo is LC-B817-7682. Incidentally, if you would like to honor these soldiers (or others) at the National Remembrance Ceremony each December, you can purchase a wreath for a grave through the Wreaths Across America website.
AuthorThe author is a historian with a Ph.D. in US history and a love for genealogy and old photos. Archives
August 2018
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