The novel’s fictional Sergeant Timothy Chase of the 29th Massachusettes Infantry Regiment was detailed to see to the embalming and transportation of the regiment’s dead after the battle of Fort Sanders.

Chase’s “scientific curiosity” led him to closely inspect the embalming procedure run by a private firm at Knoxville which charged for embalming officers. The entrepreneurs usually ignored sergeants and enlisted men altogether but made an exception in the 29th’s case and embalmed them for free.

Here’s another sharp wartime photo of a similar embalming establishment where the advertising promised results “without odor or infection.” Click on the photos at the links for enlargement of the details.

Via Shorpy.