Stories of the Homefront
Every grave in the national cemetery represents a story of service and struggle, but they also represent the impact of loss on a wide scale. Like a pebble in the water, the impact of a single story here spreads outward. A soldier is one person, but think of the web of connections each had in their lives. Every grave also represents loss for a mother, a father, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, wives, extended family, and friends. At a time when news did not travel at the split-second pace of today and travel was far less easy, families might not hear of a loved one’s death until weeks or months had gone by. Even then, the reports might be false or wrong. Worse still, many families never found out what happened to loved ones, they just never came home. Most were buried in unknown graves scattered across the southern states. This tour focuses on the personal effects of the Civil War and the impact the deaths of these men had on their friends and family.