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New York Daily News

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Fifteen years after the Twin Towers collapsed into a twisted heap of rubble, about 40% of those killed in the terror attacks remain unidentified.

But the push to return remains to heartbroken families has helped countless others find closure, officials said.

The city Medical Examiner's Office's continued efforts to identify the remains of 9/11 victims has advanced the science behind DNA testing - and created techniques that have helped cops across the country identify human remains, according to Mark Desire, Assistant Director of the city Medical Examiner's Department of Forensic Biology.

"We have been able to apply our techniques to cases around the world and help make identifications in everything from mass fatalities to missing person cases," Desire said. "We've provided other agencies our techniques and they have able to use them to generate a DNA profile."

Lower Manhattan bounces back to life, 15 years after 9/11

For the past 15 years, the Medical Examiner's office has tested and retested the 21,905 human samples recovered at Ground Zero. They have been able to identify 14,320 fragments of bone and teeth - two of the hardest materials to identify, Desire said.

"Bone is the hardest material to get DNA from," he said. "It takes a lot more time to pull DNA from the cells."

The last 9/11 victim to be identified by the Medical Examiner was in March 2015, when forensic scientists linked a fragment to 26-year-old Matthew Yarnell, a Jersey City man who was working at Fiduciary Trust Company International when the towers fell.

Over the past 15 years, 1,637 of the 2,753 victims have been identified through DNA matching, officials said.

Children who lost parents on 9/11 rely on family, community

Yet some 9/11 families have given up hope that they will ever receive a piece of their lost loved one.

In June, Theresa Stack, 73, finally held a funeral for her firefighter husband, Chief Lawrence Stack of Safety Battalion 1, who died when the north tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.

Instead of burying any remains, the family buried two vials of blood Chief Stack donated before the terror attacks.

"Fifteen years is my cutoff point," she told the Daily News at the time. "We had to have some place to go ... a place to bury him."

9/11 health fallout worse than expected, research shows

Desire admitted that the Medical Examiner's office will never be able to identify all of the recovered remains.

At least 100 victims either didn't have living relatives forensic scientists could match DNA to or had family members who aren't participating in the identification process.

Yet with each passing year comes a new technique that can help raise a sliver of DNA - and a sliver of hope for victims' families, Dr. Barbara Sampson, the city's Chief Medical Examiner, said.

"Our ongoing efforts to address this unprecedented challenge have expanded the horizons of DNA science, and helped to provide answers for families and communities affected by loss in New York City and elsewhere since 2001," Sampson said.

Still, giving closure to 9/11 families remains paramount."We are continuing our work to identify World Trade Center victims, just as we pledged to families in the days after the disaster," she said.

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Years later, city Medical Examiner still works to ID 9/11 victims

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Fifteen years after the Twin Towers collapsed into a twisted heap of rubble, about 40% of those killed in the terror attacks remain unidentified. But the push to return remains to heartbroken families has helped countless others find closure, officials said.

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War Statistics - Department of Veterans Affairs

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War Statistics - Department of Veterans Affairs

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Great resource for Civil War Deaths and Causalities.

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The Civil War was America's bloodiest conflict. The unprecedented violence of battles such as Shiloh, Antietam, Stones River, and Gettysburg shocked citizens and international observers alike. Nearly as many men died in captivity during the Civil War as were killed in the whole of the Vietnam War. Hundreds of thousands died of disease. Roughly 2% of the population, an estimated 620,000 men, lost their lives in the line of duty. Taken as a percentage of today's population, the toll would have risen as high as 6 million souls.

The Numbers Illustrated

The human cost of the Civil War was beyond anybody's expectations. The young nation experienced bloodshed of a magnitude that has not been equaled since by any other American conflict.

Military Deaths in American Wars

The numbers of Civil War dead were not equaled by the combined toll of other American conflicts until the War in Vietnam. Some believe the number is as high as 850,000. The Civil War Trust does not agree with this claim.

Civil War Battle Casualties

New military technology combined with old-fashioned tactical doctrine to produce a scale of battle casualties unprecedented in American history.

Civil War Service by Population

Even with close to total conscription, the South could not match the North's numerical strength. Southerners also stood a significantly greater chance of being killed, wounded, or captured.

Confederate Military Deaths by State

This chart and the one below are based on research done by Provost Marshal General James Fry in 1866. His estimates for Southern states were based on Confederate muster rolls--many of which were destroyed before he began his study--and many historians have disputed the results. The estimates for Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, South Carolina, and Arkansas have been updated to reflect more recent scholarship.

Union Military Deaths by State

Given the relatively complete preservation of Northern records, Fry's examination of Union deaths is far more accurate than his work in the South. Note the mortal threat that soldiers faced from disease.

Casualties of War

A "casualty" is a military person lost through death, wounds, injury, sickness, internment, capture, or through being missing in action. "Casualty" and "fatality" are not interchangeable terms-- death is only one of the ways that a soldier can become a casualty. In practice, officers would usually be responsible for recording casualties that occurred within their commands. If a soldier was unable to perform basic duties due to one of the above conditions, the soldier would be considered a casualty. This means that one soldier could be marked as a casualty several times throughout the course of the war.

Most casualties and deaths in the Civil War were the result of non-combat-related disease. For every three soldiers killed in battle, five more died of disease. The primitive nature of Civil War medicine, both in its intellectual underpinnings and in its practice in the armies, meant that many wounds and illnesses were unnecessarily fatal.

Our modern conception of casualties includes those who have been psychologically damaged by warfare. This distinction did not exist during the Civil War. Soldiers suffering from what we would now recognize as post-traumatic stress disorder were uncatalogued and uncared for.

Consequences

Approximately one in four soldiers that went to war never returned home. At the outset of the war, neither army had mechanisms in place to handle the amount of death that the nation was about to experience. There were no national cemeteries, no burial details, and no messengers of loss. The largest human catastrophe in American history, the Civil War forced the young nation to confront death and destruction in a way that has not been equaled before or since.

Recruitment was highly localized throughout the war. Regiments of approximately one thousand men, the building block of the armies, would often be raised from the population of a few adjacent counties. Soldiers went to war with their neighbors and their kin. The nature of recruitment meant that a battlefield disaster could wreak havoc on the home community.

The 26th North Carolina, hailing from seven counties in the western part of the state, suffered 714 casualties out of 800 men during the Battle of Gettysburg. The 24th Michigan squared off against the 26th North Carolina at Gettysburg and lost 362 out of 496 men. Nearly the entire student body of Ole Miss--135 out 139--enlisted in Company A of the 11th Mississippi. Company A, also known as the "University Greys" suffered 100% casualties in Pickett's Charge. Eighteen members of the Christian family of Christianburg, Virginia were killed during the war. It is estimated that one in three Southern households lost at least one family member.

One in thirteen surviving Civil War soldiers returned home missing one or more limbs. Pre-war jobs on farms or in factories became impossible or nearly so. This led to a rise in awareness of veterans' needs as well as increased responsibility and social power for women. For many, however, there was no solution. Tens of thousands of families slipped into destitution.

The Scholarly Challenge

Compiling casualty figures for Civil War soldiers is a complex process. Indeed, it is so complex that even 150 years later no one has, and perhaps no one will, assemble a specific, accurate set of numbers, especially on the Confederate side.

A true accounting of the number of men in the armies can be approached through a review of three primary documents: enlistment rolls, muster rolls, and casualty lists. Following any of these investigative methods one will encounter countless flaws and inconsistencies--the records in question are little sheets of paper generated and compiled 150 years ago by human beings in one of the most stressful and confusing environments to ever exist. Enlistment stations were set up in towns and cities across the country, but for the most part only those stations in major northern cities can be relied upon to have preserved records. Confederate enlistment rolls are virtually non-existent.

Muster rolls, generated every few months by commanding officers, list soldiers in their respective units as "present" or "absent." This gives a kind of snapshot of the unit's composition in a specific time and place. Overlooking the common misspelling of names and general lack of specificity concerning the condition of a "present" or "absent" soldier, muster rolls provide a valuable look into the past. Unfortunately, these little pieces of paper were usually transported by mule in the rear of a fighting army. Their preservation was adversely affected by rain, river crossings, clerical errors, and cavalry raids.

Casualty lists gives the number of men in a unit who were killed, wounded, or went missing in an engagement. However, combat threw armies into administrative chaos and the accounting done in the hours or days immediately following a battle often raises as many questions as it answers. For example: Who are the missing? Weren't many of these soldiers killed and not found? What, exactly, qualifies a wound and did armies account for this the same way? What became of wounded soldiers? Did they rejoin their unit; did they return home; did they die?

A wholly accurate count will almost certainly never be made. The effects of this devastating conflict are still felt today.
"Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." --Abraham Lincoln, 2nd Inaugural Address

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how many people were wounded in the civil war

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how many people went missing in the civil war

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The Civil War was America's bloodiest conflict. The unprecedented violence of battles such as Shiloh, Antietam, Stones River, and Gettysburg shocked citizens and international observers alike. Nearly as many men died in captivity during the Civil War as were killed in the whole of the Vietnam War. Hundreds of thousands died of disease.

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This can be used as a quick pre-assessment when you are starting this activity.

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We Got Our DNA Tested, Here's How It Actually Works

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Trace and Amy get their DNA test results, and we talk to an expert about how scientists actually get genetic information out of DNA. How To Make Blood Glow Like On CSI - https://youtu.be/j8JmSGpjjK0?list=PL6uC-XGZC7X6OMFVzMUQfjWAUyFWNNU8V Sign Up For The Seeker Newsletter Here - http://bit.ly/1UO1PxI Read More: How does DNA testing work?

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As you watch the video..answer these questions.

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As you watch the video..answer these questions.

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Great way to get in the mindset.

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As you watch the video be ready to answer the questions. What is DNA testing? How did the hosts use it in the video? Why can this be used to help us understand our heritage? How could it be used to identify missing persons? Could this be used to identify people? Recovering and Identifying person ...

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Have students use their KWL chart to record information that they Know, Want to Know, and Have learned throughout this activity.

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Guiding Student Research with a KWL Chart Template

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You can start on a project with your class by asking them to research a particular topic. This could be an event in history, a science principle, or a book you are teaching in class. You can encourage them to think of each column in the KWL chart as,: What I know: "At first I was thinking....because..."

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USE Documents: A.P.P.A.R.T.S

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Photographs, Paintings, Images P.O.S.E.R.S People: types, clothing, expression, body language Objects: list all, any unexpected? Function? Setting: when, where, buildings, nature, inferences Engagement: what is happening? Relationships: how are the people or objects connected? Summary: put it all...

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Background information

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The Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office. Washington, D.C.'s newest museum. for more info www.civilwarmed.org. To help fund this museum visit www.gofundme.com/clarabarton.

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Supporting information from the Website.

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Supporting information from the Website.

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If time is allowed.

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Clara Barton was thirty-nine and on her second career when the Civil War started.

That didn't stop her from getting involved, making a difference, and ultimately changing the world.

Clarissa Harlowe Barton was born on Christmas Day (December 25 th) 1821 in Massachusetts. The youngest child, with four much older siblings, Clara did not have an easy childhood. Her mother was not kind to her. Her siblings were more parents than playmates. However, Clara's childhood wasn't all bad. She attended school, where she excelled despite her shy demeanor. At home, Clara loved to hear her father's war stories. When she was eleven, Clara's older brother David fell off a barn roof and was bedridden for the following two years. Young Clara helped nurse him back to health. These experiences would prove beneficial, and at times crucial, to her humanitarian work later in life.

At the age of eighteen, Clara Barton went to work: not as a nurse, but as a teacher. In the 1800s in the United States, nursing was a predominately male profession. Teaching was one of the few careers available to women. But that wasn't the only reason Clara taught; she both excelled at teaching and enjoyed it. She began teaching near her home in Oxford, Massachusetts, then went on to start a school from the children of her brother's mill workers, and finally established the first free public school in the town of Bordentown, New Jersey. Barton's Bordentown school was a huge success, so successful that the powers-that-be in the town felt it was necessary to hire a male principal to run the school. Clara, who had established the school and built it up, was outraged.

"I may sometimes be willing to teach for nothing, but if paid at all, I shall never do a man's work for less than a man's pay."

Indignant, Clara left Bordentown and stopped teaching. She moved to Washington, DC and began her second career: working for the U.S. Patent Office. Clara was one of the earliest women to work for the federal government ... and it was not easy. Many of Barton's male coworkers harassed Clara and tried to besmirch her good name and get her fired. Lucky for Clara, she had a great boss who defended her and refused to dismiss her due to hearsay. Instead, he saw her talents and drive, and is believed to pay Clara Barton the same wage as a man. However, when her boss changes, she is demoted to a copyist.

This didn't last forever. Although Clara had a supportive boss, there were many men in the government who were opposed to women working in their midst. Secretary of the Interior Robert McClelland demoted Clara to a copyist who only earned 10 cents per every 100 words copied.

In 1857, James Buchanan won the presidential election and fired his opponent's outspoken supporters, including Clara. She returned home to Massachusetts to wait out Buchanan's term. In the interim, she helped out in the homes of her friends and family members. Clara was never meant to be a homebody. She was miserable.

In 1861, Abraham Lincoln took office and Clara returned to Washington, DC and to the Patent Office. She, however, would never return to the position of clerk and the equal salary she enjoyed. She moved into a boarding house on 7 th Street, two blocks from the Patent Office. Today, that boarding house is our museum.

No one ever said 1861 was an uneventful year in the United States. In April of 1861, the Battle of Fort Sumter marked the beginning of the American Civil War. Union troops flooded into Washington, DC.

The 6 th Massachusetts Infantry was among these troops. While switching trains (and train stations) in Baltimore, the regiment was attacked by a mob of Confederate sympathizers. Members of the mob tore up the street's paving stones, and threw them at the soldiers. Others jeered at the soldiers, with pistols and muskets in their hand. Then someone fired a shot, which led to more shots and more stone throwing from both sides. Finally the police arrived and put an end to the violence. The police escorted the soldiers to Camden Street station and their train to Washington.

The Baltimore Riot resulted in the first casualties of the Civil War. Eight of the Confederate sympathizers were killed, along with three soldiers, and one innocent bystander. Twenty-four soldiers were wounded.

The news of the riot arrived in Washington before the train did. Clara, along with many other women, were at the station to meet the train. When the soldiers emerged, Clara discovered they were her old friends, school mates, and students from Massachusetts. She sprung into action, organizing who should go where for treatment and rest.

In the following days, more and more soldiers arrived in Washington. They were everywhere. Without suitable barracks, soldiers set up camp in government buildings. The Sixth Massachusetts camped on the floor of the Senate. The First Rhode Island regiment slept on the shelves of the Patent Office. Clara visited old friends and made new acquaintances. She also noticed that not only did the troops have nowhere to camp, they were sorely without supplies.

Clara was determined to fix this. She began collecting supplies, first in her neighborhood, then from her friends in Massachusetts and New Jersey. Soon, Barton had acquired three warehouses full of supplies, and had to figure out how to get them to the soldiers.

Getting the supplies to the soldiers was easier said than done. Clara wanted to deliver the supplies herself, but was apprehensive how the soldiers would treat her. After all, there were names for the women that hung around camp ... and not nice names. After much soul searching, and even more permission searching, Clara had gathered both the permission and resolve to deliver supplies to the troops at the field hospitals set up outside the Battle of Cedar Mountain. She arrived at the camp and immediately got to work. She worked for days on end, without rest, then collapsed with exhaustion when she returned home. Throughout the war, Clara continued this pattern: collect supplies, visit field hospitals (and later on the battlefields themselves) and work fervently, then collapse, exhausted, ill, and at times depressed. Repeat.

When Johnny Doesn't Come Marching Home

As the Civil War drew to a close, Clara Barton was not ready to end her war work. She loved being useful and serving those in need. She had to find a new way to help. Her solution was the Missing Soldiers Office. Tens of thousands of men were missing. Their friends and families wrote to Clara, asking, have you seen Wilber? Joseph? Thomas? Clara Barton and her small staff received over 63,000 requests for help. They were able to locate over 22,000 men, some of whom were still alive.

Of the 22,000 men located by the Missing Soldiers Office, 13,000 were in one place: Andersonville Prison. These men were located due to the cunning and courage of another soldier: Dorence Atwater. Atwater had been imprisoned in Andersonville. As a prisoner, he was responsible for burying the men who passed away, and keeping a list of their names and the locations of their graves for the Confederate government. Atwater secretly kept a duplicate list for himself. When the war ended, he wanted to publish the list. He ultimately turned to Barton to do so. Together they not only published the list naming 13,000 men who died in Andersonville, they ensure each of the 13,000 men's graves were marked.

In 1868, Clara was exhausted from years of working for soldiers. Her doctors recommended she go to Europe to rest, so Clara packed up her things-leaving many of them in the attic of her boarding house rooms-and headed off for Europe and a break.

When Clara got to Europe, she didn't relax. Instead, she met representatives from the International Red Cross who inspired her to found the American Red Cross. However, before returning to the states, Clara provided nursing and humanitarian assistance during the Franco-Prussian War.

Once back in America, Clara did found the American Red Cross, and set the precedent that the Red Cross will respond to natural disasters, in addition to war. Clara also advocated for America to ratify the Geneva Convention. Clara worked tirelessly to serve others for the rest of her life. She responded to the Johnstown Flood and the Galveston Hurricane, she even helped out in Armenia and Cuba. She served as president of the American Red Cross until 1904, when at the age of 82 she resigned, then started the National First Aid Association of America. At the age of ninety, Clara Barton died in her home in Glen Echo, Maryland in 1912. Today, we celebrate her legacy and tell her story.

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Clarissa Harlowe Barton was born on Christmas Day (December 25 th) 1821 in Massachusetts. The youngest child, with four much older siblings, Clara did not have an easy childhood. Her mother was not kind to her. Her siblings were more parents than playmates. However, Clara's childhood wasn't all bad.

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This will be used as a template for your letter.

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Ripper Alton, Illinois
Sept. 26th 1865
Miss Barton

Dear Madam,

I approach you with my great sorrow, but hardly indulge the hope that you can do anything for me. My darling boy, my only son, was reported killed in the Battle of the Wilderness, May 6th, 1864.

His body was not found, and the hope was entertained by his Regiment and clutched at by myself, that wounded he had fallen into the hands of the Enemy, a prisoner and not dead.

After various fruitless efforts to obtain information, General Longstreet courteously ordered an examination in the southern prisons, and we obtained a certificate from each that no such name had ever been received.

After all our investigations we are led to the conclusion that he died on the battle field, or mortally wounded, was conveyed to some farm house and may have there been buried.

He was Captain of company D. Fifth Michigan Infantry. His sword, a cavalry sabre, had his name engraved upon it. Wilber Hurlbut, Fifth Michigan Infantry. He was in Hancock's Corps, Birney's Division, Hay's Brigade. He had command of the Regiment at the time he fell. Had charged the enemy through a wood and was in the vicinity of Spottsylvania.

Our men were heavily pressed and fell back. Captain Hurlbut was missing. A man, by the name of Luke Stanton, told an officer that he saw him fall.
We have been unable to find Luke Stanton & have never ascertained to what Regiment he belonged, but learned he was soon after mustered out of the service. Captain Miller, Aid to General Hancock, made such efforts as he could, and other of his comrades did all in their power to learn his fate but we elicit nothing. If he died on the battlefield, I would that I knew it and if he died at a farm house, how much I wish to know it. For his sword I would give a handsome reward. Anything that was his would be most precious to me and nothing to strangers. Some articles of toilet he had with him have his name. Whatever of money found on his person was of course the spoil of war.

My son was twenty-two years old. Wore no moustache or beard. Was about six feet in height. When in College he was rather spare, but the outdoor life of the army had given him a robust appearance. He entered the army as Aid to General Richardson. After that officer's lamented death, he served in the Michigan Fifth. He had participated in more than twenty battles. Was severely wounded at Gettysburg, but from which he wholly recovered.

The enemy held the battle ground of the Wilderness and should anything ever be revealed in regard to my dear boy, it would probably come from some Rebel source, unless indeed some of our men captured at the time should know something. General Ewell held the field there for sometime.

It may be well to add my son's name to the many missing ones, and could you by any means give to me any knowledge of the last resting place of my darling one you would confer such a favor as none less desolate than myself can appreciate.

May God bless you in your humane efforts and abundantly reward you.
Mrs. T. B. Hurlbut
Ripper Alton, Illinois.

P. S. I neglected to mention that my son had dark hazel eyes. Hair almost black.

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Ripper Alton, Illinois Sept. 26th 1865 Miss Barton Dear Madam, I approach you with my great sorrow, but hardly indulge the hope that you can do anything for me. My darling boy, my only son, was reported killed in the Battle of the Wilderness, May 6th, 1864.

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Please use this to create your letter to Clara Barton's Missing Soldier Office in Washington, DC.

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Make a copy of this document.  You will need to fill this out, and then handwrite the letter on a piece of notebook paper.  Remember...your letter will need to be formated much like the example we read in class.  Sample Letter:  Link  Your letter needs include the following information as part of...

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June 1, 1865

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Battle of Gettysburg

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Gettysburg Union order of battle - Wikipedia

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The Union order of battle during the Battle of Gettysburg includes the American Civil War officers and men of the Army of the Potomac (multiple commander names indicate command succession of command during the three-day battle (July 1-3, 1863). Order of battle compiled from the army organization during the battle, the casualty returns and the reports.

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See notes in lesson plan before you use this.

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Search Results: "union" - Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (Library of Congress)

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The Prints and Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) contains catalog records and digital images representing a rich cross-section of still pictures held by the Prints & Photographs Division and, in some cases, other units of the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress offers broad public access to these materials as a contribution to education and scholarship.

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Walking Among the Missing Mr. Monty Graber MEd 8th Grade - Multiple Class Periods    Introduction: Students will use primary source materials and information to create a simulated situation like what was part of Clara Barton’s Missing Soldiers Office.   Learning Objectives: Students will res...