How did transporting soldiers’ bodies home during the U.S. Civil War encourage embalming?

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surgeon; American Civil War — embalming An embalming surgeon at work on a soldier's body during the American Civil War.

During the U.S. Civil War, the practice of embalming became a common mortuary service in the United States, largely driven by the desire of families to have their loved ones returned home for burial.1

Prior to this, the standard methods for preserving bodies for transport—such as packing them in ice or using cooling boards—were often unsatisfactory and awkward. The war served as a turning point by breaking down public resistance to the idea of "mutilating" the body for preservation. The government facilitated this shift by awarding contracts to undertakers and embalmers to prepare soldiers' remains for shipment to their families.1

The widespread use of these services, combined with the high-profile embalming of figures such as Abraham Lincoln and his son, helped normalize the procedure and even associated it with patriotic duty. This increased demand ultimately established arterial embalming as a standard practice and laid the foundation for modern mortuary education in the United States.1