They May Pass from Sight But Never From Memory
The National Cemetery on Marye Heights Marker #619--The roots of a cedar tree are slowly covering this grave marker. Without the flag it would be easy to miss. The "3" on the marker denotes the number of unidentified remains buried here. To see 4, 5, and 6s on these markers are not uncommon. Of the 15,000 plus buried here, mostly from the Civil War, only roughly 2500 are identified. When the cemetery was established in July 1865 Union dead were brought in from battlefields throughout the area. A bounty was paid by the government for remains. Some unscrupulous individuals would break-up remains and claim them as more than one individual. Later the rules were changed that the bounty was paid per skull.