Civil War Battlefield Looted, Discovery Made Just Before Memorial Day


Part of a Civil War battlefield is being called an “active crime scene” following the discovery that it was recently looted. Reportedly, a series of excavations have been discovered at Petersburg National Battlefield, located south of Richmond Virginia. The Civil War battlefield is the site of the war’s longest siege, which lasted more than nine months. The siege took place between 1864 and 1865 and it cost roughly 70,000 Civil War soldiers their lives, according to the National Park Service.

The looting occurred at the east end of the park, reports CNN. That’s where excavated pits were found dug into the ground of the Civil War battlefield, with many of the holes simply left wide open, says park spokesperson Chris Bryce.

“Earlier this week, one of the park employees was out doing landscape work and noticed some things were out of place. [The pits] were several inches deep in most cases.”

The National Park Service says that marked graves were not disturbed during the looting of the Civil War battlefield. Even so, the public is not happy about what most American’s would call a desecration of the battlefield.

Park officials haven’t describe what types of relics looters may have been searching for when they desecrated the Civil War battlefield, nor have they confirmed whether anything was actually removed when the battlefield was looted.

“They are probably doing their homework of the area, probably did research on Civil War. They were in the ground (and) they likely would have used a metal detector and a digging tool.”

Civil War relics are highly collectible and range widely in both description and value. They can include anything from buttons to rifle parts or anything metallic used in Civil War battles, and Civil War relics (both genuine and fake) regularly show up on Ebay and similar sites.

Whoever looted Petersburg National Battlefield is facing some serious consequences if and when they are busted. According to the park service, looting a federal battlefield is a crime punishable by up to $20,000 in fines and up to two years in prison.

civil war
[Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images]
The Civil War battlefield that was home to the siege of Petersburg has incredible historical significance in the United States. The siege pitted two of the most iconic Civil War generals against one another and ultimately led to the fall of Richmond and the surrender of the Confederacy.

The looted Petersburg National Battlefield was also the site of one of the most infamous battles in the entire Civil War, The Crater. In that devastating battle, Union soldiers detonated a mine beneath a Confederate fortification. The results proved fatal for innumerable Confederate troops, but according to historians, Union troops didn’t walk away from The Crater unscathed.

Reportedly, Union troops unfortunate enough to rush into the gap created by the mine were “repulsed” and psychologically scarred by what they saw in the aftermath of the horrific explosion.

Even Ulysses S. Grant spoke of The Crater, and his words were heartbreaking.

“[The Crater was] the saddest affair I have ever witnessed in war.”

According to park service employees, the Civil War battlefield was looted in areas where significant battles and fighting occurred back in June 1864 and March 1865.

civil war looted
[Photo by George N. Barnard/U.S. Library of Congress via Getty Images]
Bryce told the media Saturday that, while the looted battlefield was discovered by an employee and not by tips to authorities, he is hopeful that someone saw something and will provide information to law enforcement so that whoever is responsible for the looted battlefield can be held accountable.

He went on to say that this isn’t the first time the Civil War battlefield has been looted. Reportedly, someone was successfully prosecuted for doing similar damage back in 2010.

“What really took us off guard was this being so close to Memorial Day, where the nation is in the midst of starting the summer and a weekend where we should reflect on sacrifices made.”

Unfortunately, Memorial Day 2016 has been marred by damage and looting at multiple sites sacred to veterans. In addition to the looted Civil War battlefield in Virginia, memorials in Louisiana and Kentucky have also been targeted by vandals.

While the “crime scene” at the looted Civil War battlefield is still being investigated, Americans everywhere are holding out hope that the looters will be caught and brought to justice for their Memorial Day crimes.

[Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images]

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