Unknown Soldier Buried in Schoolyard


Beall Elementary on College Avenue in Frostburg has an unknown soldier buried in the schoolyard, only a few feet from the front door.

Atop the grave is a boulder with a granite marker bearing this inscription:

Unearthed 1870

by

Christian Spitznas

Civil War Veteran.

Donated 1929 by his son

Charles Spitznas

The inscription is ambiguous in multiple directions. Just because a body was unearthed here doesn't mean it's necessarily buried here any longer, though the stone says nothing about the deceased being moved. "Civil War Veteran" could be read as referring to the finder, Christian Spitznas, rather than to the dead person who was found. If the veteran's name was unknown, how did anyone know they had fought in the Civil War? Had they been buried in their uniform? Surely they weren't found in their uniform, not five years after Appomattox. But under what circumstances were they unearthed?


On the other side of the boulder, in stark contrast, is an unambiguous brass plaque mounted by the American Legion to honor World War I veterans:

In

memory

of

those who

served

1917-1919 

 

 

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