The Unknown Soldiers

A cemetery burial ledger entry reading “Montgomery’s Signal Corps, Heth’s Division” may point to J.R. Montgomery, who wrote a final letter to his father after being struck by a piece of shell while serving as courier for General Heth. In the letter, he said his right shoulder was horribly mangled, death was inevitable, and he expected to die far from home, though among kind friends. He asked that Fairfax write with the particulars of his death, said his grave would be marked for a possible visit, and left it to his family whether his remains should rest there or in Mississippi, though he would like to lie with his mother and brothers. He sent his love to his friends, entrusted his horse and equipment to his father, and closed with a farewell and the hope of reunion in heaven. The names and resting places of many brave unknown soldiers who fought in the Civil War may never be known, and men who perished in Spotsylvania are believed to lie among the unknown.

Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia · United States