Cemetery Discoveries - Page 5 of 11 - The Cemetery Detective™

Confederate Cemetery – Resaca, Georgia

Confederate survivors of the Battle of Resaca; beaten, tired, and on the move, had no time to give proper burial to their brothers-in-arms.

A Nation At War

Fierce and Bloody Battles took place May 13 – 15, 1864 on the battlegrounds near the town of Resaca, Georgia. The Confederate survivors of the Battle of Resaca; beaten, tired, and on the move, had no time to give proper burial to their brothers-in-arms. Crudely dug shallow graves were not sufficient to cover the war dead. But those who had graves were the lucky ones. Most of the fallen soldiers had no burial what-so-ever. That is, until the Green family returned to their home in 1866.

Mary Jane Green Founds The Resaca Confederate Cemetery

Mary Jane Green was astonished by the site of half-buried soldiers in the battlefields of her hometown. By July of 1866, Mary Jane was raising money and finding land to give these soldiers a proper burial. Her father (Colonel John F. Green) donated 2.5 acres and Mary Jane began planning the cemetery layout.

By October 1866, all 450 burials in the cemetery were complete and a dedication occurred on the 25th of that month. Soldiers were buried according to their state of residence. Unknown soldiers were the majority and were buried around a central stone Cross.

Without a proper perimeter fence to protect the cemetery, the United Confederate Veterans and the United Daughters of the Confederacy directed the construction of the stone wall surrounding the cemetery in 1925.

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Naomi Cemetery – Walker County Georgia

Naomi cemetery is a quaint, rural cemetery in
Walker County, GA.

A Cemetery Nestled in the Forest

October 2016

Naomi Cemetery – Walker County Georgia

Nestled within densely forested land where thick vegetation muffles the sound of distant traffic, family members mourn the passing of their young child. Tears roll gently down the mother’s flushed cheek while her parents and her husband comfort her in silence.

There is closeness and there is privacy;
their secret sorrow shared only with the
trees and the inhabitants of the woods
surrounding the graveyard.

This is Naomi Cemetery. Or, at least,
this WAS Naomi Cemetery.

Naomi cemetery is a quaint, rural cemetery in
Walker County, GA.
Burials date back generations yet it is
still an active cemetery with modern gravestones dating
as recently as this year.

When families buried their loved ones here, they chose this
location for its placid solitude; a hallowed ground where
mourning and remembrance takes place in the comforting crook of nature.

In recent months, however, the entity in charge of the
land surrounding Naomi Cemetery clear cut the entirety of
the protective forest.

Sunlight is no longer filtered through a thickened
canopy and trees no longer filter the air.

Naomi lies fully exposed and its gravestones suffer
under a layer of dust stirred up by heavy tree cutting equipment.

On the one year anniversary of their child’s
death, the young couple visits the grave site of the
child taken, too soon, from this world of life.

Their sorrow is abating with time. They are
changed and so, too, is Naomi Cemetery.

Old Baptist Revolutionary War Cemetery – Carmel, New York

Old Baptist Revolutionary War Cemetery across from Mt. Carmel Baptist Church.

Living in the southern part of the United States, I often visit cemeteries containing Civil War soldiers. I even, occasionally, find a cemetery with Revolutionary War Soldiers as with my Rock Creek Cemetery Documentary. Although, Revolutionary War soldier grave sites are rare in the south, The Revolutionary War is fascinating and I always enjoy strolling through Revolutionary War era cemeteries when I visit New England states.

A Quick Visit To The Cemeteries Of Upstate New York

Last week, I paid a quick visit to upstate New York. Particularly, I was in Carmel, New York. While there, I dropped by the Old Baptist Revolutionary War Cemetery.

Just across 52 from Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, a hand-laid stone wall protects the Old Baptist Cemetery from a constant stream of nearby traffic.

The remains of more than a dozen Revolutionary War soldiers are at rest here. I can only imagine the changes their grave sites have witnessed in the past two and a quarter centuries.

Carmel Township is Proud of the Old Baptist Burial Ground

Town residents are proud of this cemetery. This cemetery is on a small plat of land not far from the city center. The grounds are under control of the Carmel town council. They appear to do a great job in maintenance and upkeep. It always bothers me to see cemeteries with gravestones in such tight quarters. I always hope the lawn maintenance guys are being ultra-careful running their mowers around these headstones. The graves sites are well maintained and, despite their age, most of the grave markers are readable. On the day I visited, United States flags were placed at the grave site of each soldier buried here.

While walking the grounds, I felt the distinct impression that there are probably many more burials in this cemetery than the number of markers would indicate.

The Cove Cemetery – Confederate Cemetery – Chickamauga Georgia

Porter Cemetery was maintained by The Cove Methodist Church. It is now known as The Cove Cemetery.

The Civil War at Porter Cemetery

On September 17 & 18, 1863, a minor skirmish took place between Federal and Confederate soldiers near what was then known as Porter Cemetery. The brief battle involved a 4:00 AM raid by Union Horsemen. Subsequent artillery fire, lobed by the Confederates, scattered Federal troops.

No war is ever humorous. However, the accounts of this skirmish seem almost farcical even to the solder telling the story. He recounts the onset of an attack that took place so quickly, the horsemen overshot their intended targets. While the horsemen were captured in an instant, other soldiers sought cover in a field of high corn stalks. Although this skirmish was mild compared to the larger war, it was not without casualties. One Captain and several soldiers died in the battle.

With opposing factions each maintaining adjacent hilltop strongholds after the two day fight, all troops were called northward to take up arms in the Battle of Chickamauga which was fought September 18 – 20, 1863.

Porter Cemetery Becomes Cove Cemetery

Porter Cemetery was maintained by The Cove Methodist Church. It is now known as Cove Cemetery. The Cove Cemetery contains the remains of many Civil War era soldiers who died on the battlefield.

Civilians are buried here, too. Most notable in the cemetery is the grave site of the Widow Glenn. This young woman’s husband, a Confederate Soldier, was killed in the line of battle. She lived on the battlefield near Porter Cemetery and her house was commandeered, for a time, by Federal Troops.

The Widow Glenn's Gravesite — The Widow Glenn

Wood Station Cemetery – Catoosa County Georgia

I had a very pleasant time wandering the rows of neatly tended gravestones in Wood Station Cemetery.

On a slight rise, just to the east of Old Alabama Highway 151 outside of Rock Spring Georgia lies a perfectly manicured cemetery. It’s headstones are easy to read and gravestone decorations are congruent with the season.

Rural Country Cemetery

It’s October and I’m driving down Hwy. 151 on my way though the rural countryside. There are a couple things I love to see in a well-manicured cemetery. First is that the cut grass is not thrown upon the gravestones making their inscriptions unreadable. Second is that the grave decorations are fresh and congruent with the season. I dislike seeing year old plastic flowers clumped against the headstone under a mound or grass from a lawn mower’s output shoot. Wood Station Cemetery had none of this.

Set in the middle of Georgia pasture land, I could hear the cows mooing from a nearby farm. The autumn sun was setting in a golden hue and a full Hunter’s moon was rising from the east. Conditions could not have been more perfect.

Gravestones were modern yet not gaudy. Their inscriptions where deep and easy to read. The grass was cut short yet the person who mowed the grass took care to prevent scalping the ground or throwing grass upon the grave markers. I hope the cemetery caretakers read this blog posting. The people responsible for Wood Station Cemetery upkeep are doing a wonderful job. I see too many cemeteries where the grass is thrown upon the tombstones making them unreadable. This is not the case at Wood Station. Well done.

A Pleasant Walk Through A Country Cemetery

Maybe it was just the crisp autumn weather or maybe I was in a particularly good mood. Whatever the reason, I had a very pleasant time wandering the rows of neatly tended gravestones in Wood Station Cemetery.

Osage Orange (Hedge Apples) as a Cemetery Fence Row

Osage Orange trees used as a fence row in Forest Hills Cemetery Chattanooga, Tennessee

In addition to great sunrises and cooler weather this time of year, I always enjoy finding Osage Orange fruit during early morning autumn walks in my local cemeteries.

Osage Orange Fruit Signifies The Coming Of Autumn

Osage Orange (Maclura Pomifera) were used for generations by Native Americans – particularly the people of the Osage Nation. Workers crafted bows and other weaponry from its sturdy yet flexible wood.

Osage Orange trees tend to grow in dense proximity to one another. Because of this, they are often used as a natural wind break. In the 1930’s 100’s of millions of Osage Orange trees were planted in the plain states to help guard against wind driven soil erosion during the dust bowl years. This resulted in large-scale distribution of the tree.

Cemeteries Use Osage Orange Trees

Because of its widespread use, public entities, such as cemeteries, used the tree as a means of inexpensive, natural perimeter fencing.

The fruit exudes a sticky white latexy substance that was used in olden times as a natural insect repellant. The fruit’s outside has a wrinkly, craggy appearance.

I am always interested in looking for Fibonacci sequences when I’m observing trees and their fruits out in nature but no discernible Fibonacci sequence is readily apparent on the Osage Orange fruit.

Although not as widely used, now, as it was in the early to mid 1900’s, Osage Orange trees are still very commonly found.

As you can see here, I found quite a few specimens strewn freely on the ground of Forest Hills Cemetery in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

References:
http://lancaster.unl.edu/enviro/pest/nebline/hedgeapple.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maclura_pomifera

“Magic Forest” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Forest Hills Cemetery Chattanooga, Tennessee.

State Line Cemetery and the Nickajack Bat Cave

State Line Cemetery was established in the early 1800’s.

A visit to State Line Cemetery

On a recent trip to the Nickajack Bat Cave on the shoreline of the Tennessee River, I discovered a cemetery very near the junction of the Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia borders.

State Line Cemetery was established in the early 1800’s. This coincides with the era many Euro-Americans were moving into this part of Tennessee. The land was still heavily populated and influenced by Native American culture. However, the political, economic, and cultural landscapes were changing. Additionally, the environmental landscape was changing with farmers beginning to graze livestock in the area.

Many of the early gravestones are simple fieldstones laid to mark each gravesite. These early gravestones have no discernable markings thus giving no indication of the name nor date-of-death of the interred. Other grave markers are more modern dating to recent years.

Stateline Cemetery encompasses ground very near the junction point of the Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia borders. If you wish to visit this junction, park your car at the cemetery and find a trail heading due west. The junction point lies about 100 yards from the westernmost edge of State Line Cemetery.

For added excitement to your cemetery hunting, visit the Nickajack Bat Cave at sunset. The cave can be accessed via the Maple View Public Use Area. Shortly after sunset, thousands of bats exit the cave. They flood the tree tops in search of their nightly meals consisting of various insects.

There is a short hiking trail leading to an observation platform. If you have a kayak, you viewing will be greatly enhanced as you can kayak right up to the mouth of the cave and watch the bats exit directly overhead.

1) Nickajack Bat Cave

2) TN AL GA Border Junction

Hunt Family Cemetery – Chickamauga, Georgia

The Hunt Family Cemetery on the Grounds of the Chickamauga Battlefield

Hunt Cemetery – Chickamauga, Ga.

Approximate Directions: Drive to the parking area at approximately:
lat. 34.896901 lon. -85.244002.
Walk down the gravel road about .4 miles ’til you come to a clearing. There is a yellow blazed trail to your left. If the trail is overgrown (as it was when I last visited) follow the road then bear left as you follow the edge of the pasture land. In about 800 feet, you will see another hay field to your left. Follow the left edge of that pasture and you will come to the Hunt Cemetery in about 500 feet.
The Hunt Cemetery is located at approximately:
lat. 34.892761 lon. -85.241823
If you’re not good with finding your way through overgrown trails or trekking down dirt paths, stop your car at the Chickamauga Battlefield’s Visitor’s Center and ask for a map to the cemetery.

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

Deep in the forests of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park (commonly referred to as the Chickamauga Battlefield) lies a cemetery of the Hunt family.

The Hunts owned and farmed the land in the years before the famous Battle at Chickamauga. Buried here are several family members in marked graves within a cast iron fence. Outside the fence, numerous field-stone marked and unmarked grave sites can be found within the wooded cemetery. Presumably, these are grave sites of family members and workers of the farm.

2016 Cemetery Conference – Day 4

We have just finished a day-long tour of Cincinnati Cemeteries at the 2016 Association for Gravestone Studies.

It’s such an educational experience spending time with such knowledgeable and well educated cemetery researchers. I have lots of note and will be sharing information with you in the future.

Here’s a quick time-lapse video from one of today’s cemeteries.

Tile GPS Locator

TILE helps me keep track of my keys when I misplace them in a cemetery.

While I am adept at finding lost cemeteries, I’m not always so skilled at finding my keys in a cemetery.

On more than one occasion, I’ve left my keys behind on a gravestone before wandering off to explore other areas of the cemetery.

TILE is a handy tool that helps me keep track of my keys (and my cell phone).

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