One of the most common questions I get is about the burial locations of men who died at Milliken’s Bend. And there is no clear answer, whether the man served for the Confederacy or the Union.

I recently went back to an older resource, known as the Roll of Honor. It lists, by name when possible, but in groupings when names are unknown, burials of men who were reinterred in National Cemeteries after the war. These men were Federal casualties – although a few exceptions – accidental reinterments of Confederate soldiers – did occur.

The Roll of Honor for the Vicksburg National Cemetery has numerous reinterments of bodies originally buried at Milliken’s Bend. Because Milliken’s Bend was a Federal outpost well before and after the battle of June 7, 1863, and because it was the site of two major hospitals – Van Buren General Hospital (for whites) and Freedmen’s General Hospital (for blacks – both civilians and soldiers) – it is nearly impossible to determine with any certainty which of the Unknown burials might be for soldiers who died in the fighting on June 7. This is especially true for African-American soldiers. However, it does seem that – in some manner – a racial identification was somehow made for these bodies, even though years had passed before they were exhumed and reinterred. For although they are listed as “Unknowns” – they are buried in Section M of the National Cemetery – a section designated from the outset as a section for Negro soldiers.

In August 1868, after more than 15,000 reinterments, of which over 5,000 were identified as Negro, only 130 (or 2%) of the black soldiers had been identified. Thus, it truly becomes nearly impossible to identify with any certainty those men who died fighting at Milliken’s Bend.

But there are some clues. According to Richard Meyers history of the Vicksburg National Cemetery (p. 36), 543 men were initially interred in Section M. 427 men of the African Brigade, including some white officers, were killed in action at Milliken’s Bend. More undoubtedly died of wounds in the weeks and months after the battle. Might these initial reinterments have come from the vicinity of Milliken’s Bend?

The Roll of Honor likewise hints at partial answers. In its listing of Unknown burials reinterred in Section M, graves #1-54, 58, 60-125, 133-347, 171-375 are noted as having an original burial location of Milliken’s Bend. That’s a total of 540 bodies. A closer examination of these grave numbers also begs the question – #133-347 and #171-375 have considerable overlap. Are there errors in this report? Should #133-347 perhaps be #133-147 instead? That question perhaps cannot be answered.

However, another series of clues may hint at the regimental identification of some of these bodies. Grave M-59 is for O. Semmo, a private from Company C, 5th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery, a later name for one of the regiments present at the Milliken’s Bend fight. Might some of the nearby-numbered Unknown graves be for some of his comrades from the same regiment? Two of his colleagues, Nacions Distill, grave M-57, and Thomas Asken, grave M-56, are also from the same company and regiment.

And yet, like with almost everything Milliken’s Bend – just when you think you are making some research progress – you hit a snag. Further checking on these names – like Nacions Distill – reveals he served with the 2nd U.S. Colored Light Artillery. He did die at Milliken’s Bend, but of disease, and in October 1864, more than a year after the fight of June 7, 1863. Further information for the other two men leads to uncertainty. No listing for a Thomas Asken has been found in service records for the 5th U.S.C.H.A., although one man from Ohio served in the 14th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery – and survived the war to receive an invalid pension. Even skimming service records for the 5th USCHA for spelling variations of “Asken” come up empty. In fact, no man with the first name of Thomas and a surname beginning with the letter A served in the 5th. Similarly, no record of O. Semmo’s service has been found, either.

Data from the Vicksburg National Cemetery website likewise makes determining the accuracy of the original Roll of Honor information unclear. Nacions Distill remains attributed to the 5th USCHA, as does Thomas Asken, with a death date, like Distill, occurring in Oct. 1864.

Despite these research difficulties, it does seem likely at at least some of the USCT soldiers killed at Milliken’s Bend were probably reinterred at the Vicksburg National Cemetery in Section M – the earliest part of the cemetery set aside for the burial of African-American soldiers. They may be among the earliest-numbered graves in that section. But precisely where they are buried, and who they are, remains a frustrating mystery.

Sources: Richard Meyers, The Vicksburg National Cemetery: An Administrative History, (National Park Service, Division of History, 1968), digital page 51; original page 36. Roll of Honor, Names of Soldiers Who Died in Defense of the American Union, Interred in the National Cemeteries, v. 24 (Washington: GPO, 1869), online at HathiTrust, digital pages 428 and following; original pages 100-103.