Burying the Dead

Burying the Dead. Honey Springs Battlefield. Those who died were quickly buried, often where they lie, as the summer heat and the high humidity led to unbearable conditions. In 1868 contractors were hired to open the graves and remove bodies whose uniforms had US buttons. These were reburied in the Fort Gibson National Cemetery. The Confederate dead were reburied where they were found in individual or mass unmarked graves. The location of the Confederate dead is still unknown. , The Feds say that they buried one hundred fifty of our dead and the same of theirs. They turned a prisoner loose and sent him with a letter to Cooper to come and tend to his wounded men and that his surgeons would stay with them until Cooper would send his. , Pvt. R. McDermott, Company A, , 20th Texas, CSA, We left our dead and wounded on the field. The Federals buried our dead in a cornfield north of Elk Creek. Our wounded were picked up by the Federals and carried to the McIntosh house and were well cared for by their surgeons until they were relieved under a flag of truce 5 or 6 days after the battle. , Corp. W. K. Makemson, , 1st Choctaw and Chickasaw Regiment, CSA