Scottish Battlefields article

[Scotus]

All these battlefields are war graves--even if picked clean of bones, they are where the soldiers fought, died, and left their blood. They should be respected as such.

I disagree. If there isn't anyone buried there, they aren't graves. We shouldn't have to say, "This is a war grave; therefore, be respectful." They should be respected because they are places where men fought and died in a war. But are they all "war graves?" No. "Grave" has a meaning, and if we just say any battle field is a grave, that word has lost its meaning.

[macwilkin]

I disagree. If there isn't anyone buried there, they aren't graves. We shouldn't have to say, "This is a war grave; therefore, be respectful." They should be respected because they are places where men fought and died in a war. But are they all "war graves?" No. "Grave" has a meaning, and if we just say any battle field is a grave, that word has lost its meaning.

And I respectfully disagree -- the I way I interepreted the OP was that battlefields should be respected in the same way as war graves (or any other grave, for matter) should be. And while no one may be buried there, men did lose their lives there, which is worthy of our respect alone.

T.

[Scotus]

And I respectfully disagree -- the I way I interepreted the OP was that battlefields should be respected in the same way as war graves (or any other grave, for matter) should be. And while no one may be buried there, men did lose their lives there, which is worthy of our respect alone.

T.

But that's not what was written. It was stated that, "All these battlefields are war graves." If there are no bodies buried, then it isn't a "war grave," which is what was stated. In your statement, you say that "battlefields should be respected in the same way as war graves." That's different than saying they are war graves.

[macwilkin]

But that's not what was written. It was stated that, "All these battlefields are war graves." If there are no bodies buried, then it isn't a "war grave," which is what was stated. In your statement, you say that "battlefields should be respected in the same way as war graves." That's different than saying they are war graves.

On "my" battlefield, we have a sinkhole that contained the bodies of 34 Union soldiers hastily buried after the battle. The remains were later exhumed and removed to the National Cemetery in Springfied. While not technically a grave, I always asked visitors to treat it as such, because soldiers killed at Wilson's Creek had been buried there at one time, and therefore had "hallowed" the ground in a sense.

T.