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The Pillaged Grave of a Civil War Hero, Part 3

Conclusions

The person, or persons, responsible for vandalizing the grave of Colonel Shy was never apprehended. Many of the local resi- dents are sure that they know the identity of the vandal but this does not necessarily mean that they are correct. The vandal may have escaped punishment from the law but he will probably have nightmares for the rest of his life over this gruesome deed.

The statement that Colonel Shy's body was found naked and impaled to a tree with a bayonet will possibly bring about much comment. This could explain his not being buried in his uniform but his uniform, most likely, was in too tattered a condition for it to be used as a burial suit anyway. The part about him being "impaled to a tree with a bayonet" will probably disturb some Civil War buffs because it suggests undue brutality by the Federal troops. If indeed he was impaled to a tree it could have been done by the looters and scavengers that were always attracted after a battle.

There is also the possibility that it was done by the attacking forces. The Federals paid heavily in taking this hill. One historian states:

It has been said that in the taking of Shy's Hill Minnesota's losses were the greatest suffered by the state in any Civil War engagement - 302 men killed, wounded or missing, from the Fifth, Seventh, Ninth and 10th Minnesota Regiments (Huddleston:1964, Part IV, p.39).

Chivalry had worn thin this late in the war. Perhaps some of the troops, angered at seeing so many of their comrades fall, did perform this shocking deed. There is one case of documented brutality connected with the fall of Shy's Hill. Colonel Shy's commanding officer, Brigadier-General Thomas Benton Smith was captured during this engagement. While being marched to the rear under guard he was struck over the head three times with a saber by a Federal officer. At first the wounds were thought fatal but he survived. Some years later the effects of this injury to his brain caused him to be committed to the Tennessee State Hospital for the insane, where he remained until his death. (Horn 1968:141).

The Science of Forensics has, in recent years, become recognized as an aid to law enforcement. If this case of vandalism had not been properly investigated by a competent Forensic Anthropologist such as Dr. Bass, the truth might have never been learned and the law would still be looking for a murderer in Williamson County.

Acknowledgements


The author would like to thank Dr. William M. Bass (Head: Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville), for allowing me the use of his report, the photographs used as Figures 1 and 2, and for his confidence and encouragement. Also I would like to thank Mrs. W.J. Montana of Silsbee, Texas who is "family historian" for the Shy family, for her concern and interest in this matter. My appreciation also goes out to the ladies who manage the Carter House in Franklin, Tennessee for their kindness. I would also like to thank my close friends, Buddy Brehm and Dick Weesner, for their aid in acquiring research material. And last, but surely not least, to Dr. Charles H. Faulkner for his editorial assistance.

The author has tried to assemble this work in a readable and interesting manner, using as a basis historical fact laced with things as they came about. This story was built around the work of Dr. William M. Bass. Again, I would like to thank Dr. Bass for allowing me the use of his data.

References Cited


Bass, William M. --

1971 Human Osteology: A Laboratory and Field Manual of the Human Skeleton. Missouri Archaeological Society, Columbia, Missouri.

n.d. Identification of an Unknown Body Placed in a Civil War Cemetery and Later Identified as Lt. Col. William M. Shy. (Unpublished) Subject of a report submitted to law enforcement and medical officials.

Bowman, Virginia McDaniel --

1971 Historic Williamson County. Blue and Gray Press, Nashville, Tennessee.

Dawson, Ralph --

1978 Nashville Tennessean, Jan. 13, 1978, Nashville, Tennessee

Horn, Stanley F. --

1965 Tennessee's War. Tennessee Civil War Centennial Commission, University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville.

1968 The Decisive Battle of Nashville. Third printing, November, 1968, University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville.

Huddleston, Ed --

1964 The Civil War in Middle Tennessee: Nashville Banner, Feb. 22, 1964. Special Magazine Issue Commemorating the Centennial of the Civil War.

Lyons, David --

1978 The Nashville Banner, February 14, 1978, Nashville, Tennessee.

Marshall, Park --

1912 The Confederate Veteran, Vol. 20, No. 11, Nashville.

McKem, Thomas and T. Dale Stewart --

1957 Skeletal Age Changes in Young American Males, Analyzed From the Standpoint of Identification. Technical Report EP-45. Headquarters, Quartermaster Research and Development Command. Natick, Mass.

McMurray, W.J. (M.D.) --

1976 History of the Twentieth Tennessee Regiment. Facsimile Reproductions 1976, reprinted by Elders Book Store, Nashville.

Montana, W.J. (Mrs.) --

1979 Personal communication.

Nashville Banner, December 31,1977. Nashville, Tennessee.

Nashville Banner, January 4, 1978. Nashville, Tennessee.

Nashville Banner, January 6, 1978. Nashville, Tennessee.

Nashville Banner, January 9, 1978. Nashville, Tennessee.

Nashville Daily Press, December 17, 1864. Nashville, Tennessee.

Tennessean's in the Civil War: Part 1. Civil War Centennial Commission, Nashville, Tennessee, 1964.

Thompson, Emily C. --

1912 ConfederateVeteranVol.20,No.11,Nashville.

Trotter, Mildred and Goldine C. Gleser --

1958 A Re-evaluation of Estimation of Stature on Measurements of Stature Taken During Life and of Long Bones After Death. American Journal of Physical anthropology 16:79-123.

War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series I, Vol. XLV, Part 1. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1886.

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