Funerary embalming comes from the American Civil War - lots of soldiers dying, often far from home, who needed to be transported back to their families. Embalming allowed the preservation of bodies for their journey home when other measures, like putting a body over ice, didn’t. Embalming at this time period was not typically used in funerary practice, instead it was mostly used to preserve bodies for dissection.
Besides its purpose as a way to transport bodies long distances, embalming also helped families to cope with the loss of their kin.
Drew Gilpin Faust says in her book Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War:
Families sought to see their loved ones in as lifelike a state as possible, not just to be certain of their identity but also to bid them farewell. Embalming offered families a way to combat at least some of the threats the war posed to the principles of the Good Death. To contemplate one’s husband, father, or son in a state of seemingly sleeplike repose was a means of resisting death’s terror - and even, to a degree, its reality; it offered a way of blurring the boundary between life and death.” (p. 92-3)
The American Civil War marked the advent of funerary embalming. The birth of funeral also provided a foundation for the modern funeral industry and helped professionalize the role of the undertaker. The American Civil War changed American ways of death and dying. Before, death usually happened at home and was largely handled by families. After the Civil War, there was a shift towards having death taken care of by “professionals.”
As Jason Phillips writes in the 2008 article “What America Lost, Buried, and Became,” “embalming and funeral companies transformed a private affair into public commerce, and unprecedented carnage meant astronomical profits.” (p. 521)
Ironically, Thomas Holmes, the “father of embalming,” was clear that he did not want his own body embalmed.
EMBALMING IS RARELY NECESSARY. It’s really only needed as a cosmetic measure or for transportation purposes.
@utopians There has been a growing conversation around shift practices death in care. The death positive/death acceptance movement, the green burial movement, and the at-home burial movement are some good places to start when researching this.
Here are some more resources to check out if you’re interested:
The Order of the Good Death
A group of funeral industry professionals, academics, and artists exploring ways to prepare a death phobic culture for their inevitable mortality.
Our mission is to inspire and advocate for environmentally sustainable, natural death care through education and certification. Our vision is to ensure universal access to information and environmentally sustainable death care
The Funeral Consumers Alliance
Helping us all understand our options and protect our right to choose a dignified, meaningful, and affordable funeral.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
Ask a Mortician (AKA Caitlin Doughty) on YouTube
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