the confederate cemetery at appomattox
A stop that attracts much attention at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park - shrouded by magnolia trees, is the Confederate Cemetery where nineteen soldiers are buried. Little was known of these soldiers, until now. This book includes as overview of the fighting at Appomattox on the evening of April 8 and 9, 1865, and detailed accounts of some of the last to fall. At least 43 Federal soldiers were buried in the vicinity of Appomattox, most were reinterred at Poplar Grove National Cemetery near Petersburg. But there were Southern soldiers with no “National Cemetery” to be reinterred and the ladies of Appomattox determined to do something about it. They formed a Ladies Association (in 1866) with 28 members - dedicated to provide suitable interment for Confederate soldiers who died in battle or from disease during the last campaign. Biographical sketches are given fro the identified soldiers buried in the cemetery. Information on other Confederate and Federal burials in the vicinity of Appomattox are also included. After the surrender most soldiers, North and South, were able to return home. The nineteen men in the cemetery did not. They had answered the final roll call. The book also details the founding of the cemetery in 1866 by the Ladies Memorial Association and there minutes from meetings held 1866 to 1870.
by Patrick A. Schroeder
|
