National Cemeteries were created in various states beginning in 1863 and the system vastly expanded in the immediate post-war period. Federal war dead were gathered from wherever they could be found and identified and reburied in these newly designated National Cemeteries. Many of these were reburied as unknowns. Most Civil War related National Cemeteries are operated and maintained by the Department of Veterans Affairs which has an excellent website: http://www.cem.va.gov/nchp.htm

Since you have two different accounts of his date and place of death, I would suggest that you contact the staffs at New Bern National Cemetery in North Carolina, and then Beaufort and Florence in South Carolina. And if his name doesn't "pop up" easily in their lists, you will need to dig into the details of Sherman's march north from Savannah which began at the end of January 1865. Federal dead could have been buried in local cemeteries along the way, although I would expect that if identified as Federal dead, they would have been removed to a nearby National Cemetery after the war. If he died in North Carolina, New Bern is the most likely site of his final resting place. If in South Carolina, I would bet on Florence because it is inland and nearer Sherman's line of march to Columbia.

NORTH CAROLINA:

New Bern National Cemetery
1711 National Avenue
New Bern, NC 28560
Phone: (252) 637-2912
FAX: (252) 637-7145

>>>New Bern National Cemetery was officially established Feb. 1, 1867. Many of the burials at New Bern are reinterments of remains from the surrounding area, including Beaufort, Hatteras and locations along the coast. Over 1,000 unknowns are buried in a separate section.<<<

Raleigh National Cemetery
501 Rock Quarry Road
Raleigh, NC 27610
Phone: (252) 637-2912
FAX: (252) 637-7145

The VA website gave no information on when this cemetery was established, but it is under the administrative supervision of the New Bern National Cemetery staff, so information on both cemeteries will likely be found there.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Florence National Cemetery
803 East National Cemetery Road
Florence, SC 29506
Phone: (843) 669-8783 or 0066
FAX: (843) 662-8318

This cemetery seems to be associated primarily with the Confederate POW camp located nearby, but Federal remains were also disinterred from the surrounding region of Darlington, Cheraw and the Marion Districts and transferred to Florence National Cemetery when it was established in the post-war period.

Beaufort National Cemetery
1601 Boundary Street
Beaufort, SC 29902-3947
Phone: (843) 524-3925
FAX: (843) 524-8538

>>The original interments in the national cemetery were men who died in nearby Union hospitals during the occupation and were initially buried in one of several places—among them East Florida and Hilton Head. About 2,800 remains were removed from cemeteries in Millen and Lawton, Ga., and reinterred in the national cemetery;--<<

Hope all this helps! Let us know what you finally learn.

Hugh Simmons