The remains were discovered in late 1979 on a battlefield of the Vicksburg Campaign. Artifacts accompanying the remains showed that the person had been a Confederate soldier but did not show the person's identity, unit, or place of origin.
The tomb's two sides are inscribed: "The Unknown Soldier of the Confederate States of America." The head of the tomb bears the inscription: Known but to God. Atop of the tomb is the Great Seal of the Confederate States of America, and at its foot is a stanza from the poem CSA by Abram Joseph Ryan.