Battlefield Burial during the Revolutionary War

Although battlefield burial is seldom covered by modern historians, following almost any military engagement, corpses needed to be buried. Who was responsible for disposing of these corpses? How can we tell who buried whom? Were officers and other ranks buried together or separate? Historian Robert Selig answers these and related questions about burying the dead during the American Revolution.

Video courtesy of C-SPAN’s American History TV

About the Speaker

Robert Selig is a historical consultant who serves as a project historian to the National Park Service for the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail Project.

Continue your exploration of death during the Revolutionary War with this oil-on-canvas portrait of Thomas François Lenormand de Victot—seen rising to oppose Death to protect his compatriots. This work was featured in our exhibition, Revolutionary Reflections: French Memories of the War for America.