That is one reason that so many of these Union soldiers in the National Cemeteries today are listed as Unknown. But it certainly wasn't the only reason.

Certainly there was a different attitude in the mid 1800's about the dead than there is today. It wasn't uncommon for whole cemeteries to be plowed up and turned into farm lands. The same thing goes on today. Loggers in the Timber industry still destroy many old unprotected cemeteries in our woodlands. I can take you to a half dozen of these which there is no sign that there was ever a cemeteries there.

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff's football stadium sits on top of an old Black (Jane Oliver) cemetery. They supposedly removed all the marked graves from the cemetery before they began construction. But before it was a Black cemetery, it was started as a burial place for Confederate dead from Walkers Texas Division during their stay in Pine Bluff in 1863. Their Camp Wright was only a quarter of a mile away. I am pretty sure that none of those graves were moved because they were unmarked.