James W. West, Private, Company E, 26th Virginia Infantry, born 1846, age 17, gray eyes, light hair, fair complexion,
5’ 1”, born in Gloucster County, Virginia, Waterman, enlisted January 25, 1864 in Gloucester County, Va. by Benjamin West for the war, turns 18 in February, $50 bounty due, returned to duty from performing Convalescent Guard Duty at Chimborazo Hospital August 24, 1864, recorded on August 31 as "present, sick," killed in trenches near Petersburg, Va., September 11, 1864

M324: Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Virginia

Brother Ben, a patient in Chimborazo Hospital, Richmond, Sept. 7, 1864, was granted a 40 day furlough Sept. 22, 1864 to go to Gloucester County, Va.

The known Confederate cemetery at Petersburg is the Blandford Church Cemetery where some 30,000 Confederate soldiers are buried. Only a handful are marked, the vast majority unknown.

I would suspect that he would have been buried, or perhaps reburied there. I have tried a “Find a Grave” search without finding him.

It would seem that with all the West men in the company and regiment, most likely all kin, they may have tried to return his body home. His brother Ben, a patient at the time of James’ death at Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond, was released on furlough to return home on September 22. He may very well have returned via Petersburg and transported his remains home. However, this would have required some type of conveyance such as a wagon, or spare horse. This would have incurred some expense and may have been beyond the means of the family. I doubt very much that James was buried in a coffin. Also, although his original burial in the Petersburg area may have been marked in some fashion by a piece of lumber, it may have been lost very soon thereafter, and the exact location of his remains unknown.

Are you aware of where the majority of his family, such as Benjamin, were buried? I would have expected had he been returned to his home for burial, it would be in the family cemetery.