Countless Confederate Soldiers and Others Believed to Be Buried Beneath City-Owned Land in Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — City officials in Richmond have uncovered over 700 suspected unmarked graves under a city-owned location in Manchester, with numerous burials possibly being those of Confederate soldiers. A recent report indicates that there may be additional graves yet to be uncovered.

The city initially announced this finding on Friday, May 23, revealing that ground-penetrating radar technology had been employed to locate 472 likely and 270 potential burial sites, summing up to 742, at the address 2313 Wise Street.

On Friday, May 30, the complete report on the burial site was made public, courtesy of the vendor responsible for the survey. This report elaborates on the discoveries and includes associated historical research.

Historical evidence suggests that this burial site was used as a municipal cemetery prior to the establishment of the nearby Maury Cemetery in 1874. There are several radar images in the report of the site, including one where the potential grave sites are indicated by small black and white rectangles.

However, the vendor noted that this survey, while “comprehensive,” is “not likely [to] represent all potential graves within the gridded survey area.”

“Although many of the probable and possible interments exhibited relative clarity in the geophysical analysis, the density of the burial pattern within the cemetery made absolute identification of all burials nearly impossible,” the report reads.

The vendor added that it appears many people were buried on top of one another, which is “a common occurrence in burial grounds used over a long period or intensively.”

The people buried here are thought to be Confederate soldiers who died in area military hospitals during the Civil War, as well as private citizens. The soldiers are believed to have been buried there between 1861 and 1862.

8News previously visited the site and noted a stone marker had been placed there to honor “more than one hundred” Confederate soldiers from South Carolina who died in a Manchester hospital between 1861 and 1865. This marker was placed in 1939 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

The report indicates that, at this time, there is no known documentation of the burials at this site. However, the vendor did locate several medical-related records that list soldiers who died in area hospitals.

8News obtained a full copy of one such record, included below, which lists over 160 Confederate soldiers who died in the South Carolina Hospital at Manchester between 1861 and 1862. This record was created by the Hospital Aid Association of South Carolina.

As said, none of the records note exactly where any person was buried.

“Although research of period appropriate maps and documentation provides some measure of evidence that the site was used as a burial ground for Confederate soldiers, there are no definitive records of wartime burials or postwar removals,” the city said in a press release. “In the absence of conclusive information, the City chose to commission a study of the site to confirm the presence or absence of burial remains.”

In the release, Richmond officials said a plan is being developed to allow visitation at the site — both for genealogical researchers, as well as those who want to visit loved ones believed to be buried there.

“Once finalized, that plan will be announced and available on the City’s website,” the city said.