During the American Revolution, many of the soldiers killed in action were interred in unmarked graves. The fledgling nation wouldn’t “systematically care for its war dead” until decades later, according to Arlington National Cemetery. “After a battle, the victorious army, which controlled the battlefield, would usually bury the dead from both armies.”
At one long-forgotten burial, a list of names has finally appeared. A cemetery in Wilmington, Delaware, holds the remains of at least 66 soldiers who died during the war, and researchers have now identified 33 of them.
“For nearly 250 years, they have lain unknown and unremembered,” John Carney, the mayor of Wilmington, said at a memorial ceremony last month. “For too long, their stories have been obscured and their final resting place overlooked. Today, that changes as we dedicate a permanent memorial on this hallowed ground in their honor.”…