ECW Weekender: Confederate Cemetery at Spotsylvania Court House (In The Snow)

Fallen Union soldiers from the battlefields of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, The Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House were eventually laid to rest in Fredericksburg National Cemetery. But what happened to the Confederate graves? Many of the Confederate dead were disinterred and reburied in the Confederate Cemeteries at Fredericksburg and at Spotsylvania Court House.

Spotsylvania Court House in—you guessed it!—Spotsylvania County, Virginia, had its own Memorial Association which was instrumental in establishing the Confederate Cemetery and removing those fallen soldiers from their shallow graves in the fields and woods. Reinternments at the Spotsylvania cemetery started in 1867, and 600 soldiers were moved here in the first search for battlefield graves. The five-acre cemetery now contains 741 marked graves, 534 of which are identified; the burials were organized and graves marked by state. The memorial monument at the center of the cemetery was dedicated in 1918.

There are several historic interpretive panels in the cemetery, with information about some of the identified soldiers buried there, the Spotsylvania Memorial Association, and the creation of the cemetery. It’s worth a stop if you’re exploring the battlefields in the area and piecing together what happened after the fighting ended.

If you’re interested in visiting the historic cemetery, it is located off Courthouse Road, with the entrance between the 7-11 Gas Station and the community fire station. If you’ve parked in the historic courthouse area, there are new, paved sidewalks that pass the location and it’s easy walking distance from the historic courthouse. (The address for GPS is 7104 Aldrich Ct, Spotsylvania Courthouse, VA 22553).

During one of the recent winter storms, I made a visit to the historic village and walked out to the Confederate Cemetery. I hope you enjoy the snow photos. It was a very quiet afternoon, more hushed than usual at this final resting place of Civil War soldiers…

 



8 Responses to ECW Weekender: Confederate Cemetery at Spotsylvania Court House (In The Snow)

  1. Beautiful pictures, thank-you! I visited the cemetery during the sesquicentennial, and as I entered the Confederate section, saw Robert Lee Hodge and friend reclining under a tree. He was wearing his Confederate uniform; indeed, I had seen him early that morning at a battlefield walk. He invited me to come over and talk; my memory of that encounter still makes me smile. Even though the shade tree was necessary on that hot afternoon, your photos brought it all back.

  2. Mt Hebron Cemetery in Winchester Va..is another historic and beautiful burial site that a has a Confederate section..Ashby Turner and George Patton’s Grand Pa and Grand Uncle are among the
    Identified and unknown…Have visited many times in the spring and fall but never when a blanket of snow adds to the visual peace and solitude of that place of honor…
    There is also a national cemetery right across across the street..

  3. The Confederate Cemetery in Tulllahoma, Tennessee, was established in1863. It is privately owned, the land having been deeded by the original landowner to an association which appoints its own trustees. The association is still active in maintaining the cemetery. Over 500 Confederate soldiers are buried here, all of them hospital deaths. The names of those are buried in the cemetery are listed on a marker but the burials were in trench graves so there are no individual graves.

  4. Could someone shed some light on why there are family gravesites other than the soldiers? I found my Great Grandfather, last name Brent, buried there with other relatives. He was my Grandmother’s Father. I’ve never been able to figure out why they have a family grave there. Thanks!

    1. Many of the Ladies Memorial Association raised the money to purchase the land and/or pay for the work of disinterring and reburying the soldiers by selling cemetery plots to others. That is likely the case with the Spotsylvania Confederate Cemetery. Apparently your relatives decided to support the project of providing burial to Confederate soldiers by purchasing plots for their own family.

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