美國政府於1862年7月17日下令興建國家公墓

當士兵們在戰場上戰死時，他們的屍體該怎麼處理呢？在內戰期間，凡是死在戰場、戰地醫院，或者是在戰俘營裡的士兵，他們的屍體都會被就地掩埋。到了戰爭結束之後，搜索隊會到所有可能埋葬士兵的地點進行搜尋，把剩餘的屍骨挖出來帶回他們的家鄉。美國政府一共花了五年的時間完成這些搜尋工作，並且找到超過25萬具屍骨。

在1862年7月17日，林肯總統簽署法案，正式授權美國政府興建國家軍人公墓。到了1870年，已經興建了73處國家公墓，其中大部分是在戰爭時期發生最多戰爭與擁有最多戰地醫院的美國東南部地區。


What happens to soldiers when they die during a battle? During the Civil War, soldiers who died on the battlefields, in field hospitals, or in prison camps were buried where they fell. At the end of the war, search and recovery teams visited all the places where soldiers might have been hastily buried and dug up the remains to bring them home. It took five years to complete this process, and more than 250,000 sets of remains were recovered.

On July 17, 1862, President Lincoln signed legislation authorizing the creation of national cemeteries by the U.S. government. By 1870, 73 national cemeteries had been established, many in the southeastern United States, the site of many battles and field hospitals during the war.

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