Digging Up the Dead: A History of Notable American Reburials
Michael Kammen
Abstract
This book reveals a treasure trove of fascinating, surprising, and occasionally gruesome stories of exhumation and reburial throughout American history. Taking us to the contested grave sites of such figures as Sitting Bull, John Paul Jones, Frank Lloyd Wright, Daniel Boone, Jefferson Davis, and even Abraham Lincoln, the book explores how complicated interactions of regional pride, shifting reputations, and evolving burial practices led to public and often emotional battles over the final resting places of famous figures. Grave-robbing, skull-fondling, cases of mistaken identity, and the finan ... More
This book reveals a treasure trove of fascinating, surprising, and occasionally gruesome stories of exhumation and reburial throughout American history. Taking us to the contested grave sites of such figures as Sitting Bull, John Paul Jones, Frank Lloyd Wright, Daniel Boone, Jefferson Davis, and even Abraham Lincoln, the book explores how complicated interactions of regional pride, shifting reputations, and evolving burial practices led to public and often emotional battles over the final resting places of famous figures. Grave-robbing, skull-fondling, cases of mistaken identity, and the financial lures of cemetery tourism all come into play as the book delves deeply into this little-known—yet surprisingly persistent—aspect of American history. Simultaneously insightful and interesting, masterly and macabre, this book reminds us that the stories of American history do not always end when the key players pass on. Rather, the battle—over reputations, interpretations, and, last but far from least, possession of the remains themselves—is often just beginning.
Keywords:
exhumation,
reburial,
Sitting Bull,
Abraham Lincoln,
burial practices,
grave-robbing,
cemetery tourism,
reputations,
mistaken identity,
skull-fondling
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2010 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780226423296 |
| Published to Chicago Scholarship Online: March 2013 |
DOI:10.7208/chicago/9780226423326.001.0001 |
