I'm going to be a soldier, but I wanted my impression to have some back story. I'm about to be 19, so obviously I have no trade experience (other than washing dishes) but I'd like to portray what I'd like to do in life. I want to be a mortician: Apprentice Undertaker that is. But I'm having a lot of trouble finding imformation about pre-embalming era practices, as Southern undertakers during the war were not trained in embalming nore did they have the equipment and chemicals. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.