| From the Richmond Daily Dispatch |
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| July 31, 1862 |
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| Disinterment of dead bodies |
| We daily observe at the railway
stations boxes containing the bodies of deceased soldiers, which have
been disinterred by their friends, under the belief that they can be
sent off without delay, either by mail train or express. This,
however, is an error. Freight trains only carry them, and the
detention frequently causes the bodies to become offensive, when their
immediate burial by the way side is a matter of necessity. It would be
better to postpone disinterment until cold weather, when it can be
accomplished with less trouble and more certainty of getting the
remains of the departed to their destination. Metallic coffins are
difficult to obtain, and wooden ones can only be procured by the
payment of a large sum. In these the dead bodies are packed with
sawdust, and in warm weather their transportation to a distant point
is uncertain, if not absolutely impossible. |
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