An unfortunate side effect of war is the number of mass casualties.

Of the soldiers that die while in combat, there are a few whose bodies are never identified. These soldiers are laid to rest in graves marked “unknown soldier,” with the intent being to mark their headstone if they are ever identified.

The most famous of these is The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, where unknown soldiers are often honored.

But what about at smaller cemeteries, where there are other graves for unidentified soldiers?

Andersonville National Historic Site has one such grave.

The Andersonville National Historic Site exists on top of a former Confederate military prison in Georgia. This prison was called Camp Sumter and has a grim history. Camp Sumter was open for 14 months during the Civil War, and imprisoned up to 45,000 Union soldiers. Of these prisoners of war, almost 13,000 are believed to have died in the camp.

Today, the Andersonville National Historic Site honors the Union prisoners of war who died while at Camp Sumter.

The gravesite is still active and open to visitors who come to pay their respects.

This includes visitation to the unmarked gravestone in place for the unknown soldier.

The unknown soldier.

This headstone honors the burial place of an unidentified soldier who fought for the Union during the Civil War.

Because he is unidentified, the headstone is blank except for the phrase “Unknown U.S. Soldier.” If this soldier is ever identified, other information will be added to the headstone, such as his name and date of birth.

Despite being anonymous, he received a touching honor.

One day, while making the rounds of the cemetery, the Park Maintenance Supervisor, James Taylor, spotted a fawn curled up at the unknown soldier’s headstone. The fawn looked comfortable and at peace at the headstone, which melted James Taylor’s heart.

He took a quick picture of the scene of the fawn and the headstone and shared it on the Andersonville National Park Facebook page.

This image conveyed a scene of peace and harmony, almost as if the fawn was bringing some peace and comfort to the soldier.

It seems like nature’s way of honoring prisoners of war and those who are lost during military service.

A peaceful scene.

Taylor knew that fawns of a certain age are able to be alone without help from their mom, so he left the fawn alone for the day, and allowed it to stay curled against the headstone as long as it wanted.

Whether or not the fawn had a special sense and knew to give some comfort to this particular burial site, the scene that played out is one that looks like a gesture of respect for fallen soldiers and the sacrifices they made.

It is a touching moment that shows nature and humans existing in harmony, and relying on one another.

Later in the day, the fawn’s mother returned.

The Andersonville National Historic Site confirms that “Later in the day, staff members saw the doe come back for her young.” The fawn and the doe left the cemetery for the day, but the moment of love and respect between the fawn and the unknown soldier’s headstone will be remembered for a long time to come.

Check out the powerful post below!

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Source: Facebook – Andersonville National Historic Site, National Park Service: Andersonville National Historic Site, Fox5 Atlanta