This is Charleston, South Carolina. It’s not unusual to find grave sites, or whole cemeteries, of confederate veterans. Hey, the war started less than 10 miles straight down the road from here.
This spot was just a little different in the individuals buried together. It caught my eye since this was my first day out in a while and I was wandering (a bit aimlessly) slowly around the old stones.
In the 1800’s it was traditional to mark off burial plots with large, long, rectangular stone borders. The plots were for family, military regiments, or perhaps social groups like Masons.
But not here.
This small section (above) is all CSA, confederate soldiers with no other obvious connection. Also most were not killed during the war which is how the typical CSA cemeteries are laid out.
The obvious different age and quality of the head stones was striking.
The largest stone was a monument to someone killed and buried elsewhere early in the war. Probably during the first incursion north by southern troops. Seabrook is an old family name in South Carolina. Why is the monument almost hidden here and not in one of the big family church grave sites.
A few markers were for veterans that died many years after the war, the early 1900’s. All were CSA soldiers, but from different units.
The last little mystery is why at this spot, this group of men. Within this cemetery, the old Umbria Plantation land, is the CSA ‘Soldiers Ground’. It actually started during the Civil War because of the large number of troops needing to be buried. Many soldiers and sailors are buried there. This group could have been among them.
Just some thoughts and questions that occurred to me standing there, camera in hand, shooting outside in the nice weather.
All photographs taken at Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, South Carolina.
thats a really interesting story.
Thanks. Just something I noticed while out there. Old southern US cemetery, plenty of stories to be found.
I have various books documenting the old grave yards in Charleston which help me get started if I find something to research.
Its a fascinating piece of history.
Do you think every grave was marked? Was every soldier identified?
No, there are many graves marked as an ‘unknown’. This is especially true of confederate sailors. Charleston is a port town and was blockaded. Many regiments from Gettysburg were reburied here after the war. With the correct name and unit it’s amazing how much you can learn.
I tracked one soldier killed at Gettysburg and learned the exact spot he was killed during that battle. I’m not a ‘war’ buff I just followed the leads since I do photograph the old cemeteries often.