Since your relative was a member of the Union Army, you should search the following site to see whether your ancestor was possibly buried in one of the national cemeteries. The national cemeteries were created specifically for the burial of Union soldiers during the Civil War and a majority were buried in them during and after the war. Next, check old cemeteries in the community that he last left, as he may be buried in a family or community cemetery. Please understand that roughly only 56% of Civil War soldiers were buried as "knowns"--leaving a substantial number that were buried as "unknowns." A major portion of the Union soldiers were foreign born. FYI, Confederates were not officially allowed to be buried in national cemeteries until after 1901. Here's the link to the nationwide cemetery gravesite locator: http://www.cem.va.gov/ Darlene Richardson, Historian (former historian for the National Cemetery Administration) VHA History Office U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration (10C3) 810 Vermont Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20420 Phone: (202) 273-8923 Fax: (202) 273-9041 "The only thing new in the world is the history you don't know." -- Harry Truman -----Original Message----- From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Anne Pemberton Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 2:13 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Fw: Information required for Capt James Ham Co. M 17th Reg Pa I received the following by email this morning. The Five Forks website is about the battle, not about the individuals who fought there, so I cannot provide her with any information. Can anyone on this list suggest sources, library or online, that could assist her? Anne Anne Pemberton [log in to unmask] http://www.erols.com/stevepem http://www.erols.com/apembert http://www.educationalsynthesis.org ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brian Forsey" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 9:07 AM Subject: Information required for Capt James Ham Co. M 17th Reg Pa > Dear Madam, > I wonder if you could possibly give me any information > on one of my ancestors who fought and died at the > battle of Five Forks, his name was Capt James Ham > Co.17th Reg. Pa. I am always wondering how a 17 year > old boy managed to leave a very small town Launceston, > Cornwall,in 1855, journey to America, rise to the > ranks of an officer and then lay down his life for > freedom. I would love to know more detail as I feel > this must never be forgotten. We still have relatives > in Launceston Cornwall to this day. > Gratefully yours, > Susan Forsey (nee Ham) > > > > ________________________________________________________________________ ____________ > Bored stiff? Loosen up... > Download and play hundreds of games for free on Yahoo! Games. > http://games.yahoo.com/games/front To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html