WJCC Voice

• Event: Reinterment of Confederate soldiers’ remains at Cedar Grove Cemetery, Williamsburg, on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, at 9 a.m.
• Description: Conducted “quietly and respectfully” as stated by Jack Gary, director of archaeology for The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
• Attendees: Archaeological staff, cemetery caretaker Bill Brown, and two representatives from the Office of Army Cemeteries.
• Discovery: Remains of four Confederate soldiers and three amputated limbs found in 2023 during excavations at the Powder Magazine near Duke of Gloucester Street.
• Identification: DNA analysis ongoing to identify soldiers; remains reinterred to avoid prolonged storage. Age ranges: one teenager (15-18), two in their 20s-30s, one in late 30s-early 40s.
• Burial Details:
  • Four soldiers buried in individual vaults in five contiguous plots in the cemetery’s southeast corner.
  • Three amputated limbs placed in a single fifth vault.
  • Flowers placed on graves; markers to be erected later.
• Historical Context:
  • Cedar Grove contains graves from the Battle of Williamsburg (May 5, 1862).
  • Adjacent Baptist Church used as a hospital post-battle; bodies initially buried in pits, later moved to Cedar Grove and Bruton Parish Episcopal Church graveyard.
• Excavation Site: Remains found near the Powder Magazine, a 1715 structure used in the Civil War and American Revolution.
• Findings:
  • One soldier had a Minié ball in his spine; shrapnel found in two others.
  • Personal items included an animal bone-handled toothbrush, a snuff bottle, and copper buttons with glass insets.
• Future Plans: Groups can hold ceremonies or programs at the cemetery later.

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