1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910792592703321

Autore

Kammen Michael G

Titolo

Digging up the dead : a history of notable American reburials / / Michael Kammen

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Chicago ; ; London, : University of Chicago Press, 2009

ISBN

1-282-58481-2

9786612584817

0-226-42332-8

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource  (xi, 260 pages) : illustrations

Disciplina

393/.10973

Soggetti

Exhumation - United States - History

Exhumation - Political aspects - United States

Burial - United States - History

Funeral rites and ceremonies - United States - History

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

A short history of reburial: patterns of change over time -- Heroes of the Revolution: the siting and reciting of patriotism -- Honor, dishonor, and issues of reputation: from sectionalism to nationalism -- Problematic graves, tourism, and the wishes of survivors -- Disinterred by devotion: religion, race, and spiritual repose -- Repossessing the dead elsewhere in our time.

Sommario/riassunto

With Digging Up the Dead, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Michael Kammen 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, Kammen 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 Kammen delves deeply into this little-known-yet surprisingly persistent-aspect of American history.



Simultaneously insightful and interesting, masterly and macabre, Digging Up the Dead reminds us that the stories of American history don't 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.