battlefield forensics?

Question

can anyone tell me exactly what battlefield forensics is in relation to history? i am thinking of a history career and one of my friends mentioned battlefield forensics... can anyone tell me any specifics of it?

Answer 1

Wow, yes, it's kind of a burgeoning field in forensic science. In modern history, it's used by militaries to determine who was where and died of what on the battlefield. In historical context, it's been used to determine how exactly a musket ball created wounds to soldiers in the Civil War, particularly with different grades of muskets.

In the modern context, battlefield forensics is being adopted to track insurgents in Iraq and elsewhere. Particuarly where offensives are made, the people scatter only to return later when the fighting is completed.

Answer 2

Apply the methods of investigation and science used by law enforcement and portrayed in the TV CSI series onto a battlefield.

The people that I know who do this have other professions and do this as a hobby, as well as helping law enforcement with forensics. I do not know of a booming employment demand in this area.

The relationship to history is basically dissecting a battlefield into the who did what and when. Often events are known to have happened but the how and whys remain uncertain and shrouded in speculation. As the aforementioned Battle of the Little Big Horn bought new light about what happened at that battle. Speculation fell to cold hard facts.

Answer 3

One example: the forensic people tracked the flow of battle at the Little Big Horn by finding spent cartridges on the battlefield along with skull and bone fragments. They could tell where Custer set his picket lines, where the battle raged, where the so-called 'last stand' took place. They found the Indians had greater fire power than the 7th Cavalry soldiers. The Indians had higher calibre weapons.