Last updated: November 22, 2021
Place
Sinkhole on Bloody Hill
NPS
Quick Facts
Location:
Tour Road Stop 7, Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, Republic, Missouri
Significance:
A natural sinkhole on Bloody Hill became the site of a mass grave for Union soldiers.
Amenities
5 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Information, Parking - Auto, Parking - Bus/RV, Scenic View/Photo Spot
On August 10, 1861, six hours of fierce fighting left at least 2,539 troops dead, wounded, captured, or missing. Many of the dead were buried in unmarked graves, including mass burials in several natural sinkholes.
What is a sinkhole? Southwest Missouri's landscapes feature limestone, which is easily dissolved by water. Over millions of years, groundwater percolated through limestone fractures and formed underground streams and caves. Sinkholes can occur when an underground stream disappears or changes course, and underground beds of limestone then collapse.
In 1867, more than five years after the battle, workers disinterred the remains of soldiers from several locations including this sinkhole on Bloody Hill. The workers who recovered the remains described this sinkhole as being 19 feet by 12 feet in size. They recovered approximately 30 sets of remains from this sinkhole. “The utmost care and tenderness which such a delicate duty demands were exercised, and the remnants of clothing (very few) carefully examined for any evidence of identification. Except in occasional instances, which are dutifully recorded, nothing could be found toward identifying any of these soldiers,” said one eyewitness.
The soldiers' remains were reburied in Springfield National Cemetery, created in 1867 in nearby Springfield, Missouri.
In the late 1960s, the NPS did an archeological excavation on this sinkhole and then refilled it and restored its natural landscape.
You can take a walk at Bloody Hill (Tour Road Stop 7) and stop alongside the sinkhole, where an interpretive wayside panel gives more details of this battlefield burial site.