In this photo provided by The Valley Breeze, Civil War re-enactors participate in ceremonies during funeral services Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, for the burial of the cremated remains of Byron R. Johnson, a Union soldier who was born in Pawtucket, R.I. in 1844 and fought in the Civil War, during funeral services, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, at Oak Grove Cemetery, in Pawtucket, after his remains were transferred from storage at a cemetery in Seattle. (Charles Lawrence/The Valley Breeze via AP)
PAWTUCKET, R.I. (AP) — For several decades, the cremated remains of more than two dozen American Civil War veterans languished in storage facilities at a funeral home and cemetery in Seattle.
The simple copper and cardboard urns gathering dust on shelves only had the name of each of the 28 soldiers — but nothing linking them to the Civil War. Still, that was enough for an organization dedicated to locating, identifying and interring the remains of unclaimed veterans to conclude over several years that they were all Union soldiers deserving of a burial service with military honors…