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Old City Cemetery
Lynchburg, Virginia
— Civil War Sites —
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By Bill Coughlin, April 26, 2007 | |
| | | 1. Old City Cemetery Lynchburg, Virginia - Civil War Sites marker | | This marker is on the Battle of Lynchburg Trail of the Virginia Civil War Trails. | | |
Inscription. “With a graveyard on one side, quartermaster’s glanders stable on the other, and smallpox hospital in the middle, one (is) reminded of the mortality of man.”
“A Confederate Surgeon’s Story,” Confederate Veteran, 1931, John Jay Terrell, M.D.
This Old City Cemetery served three distinct and important roles in the Civil War: it was a burial ground for over 2200 soldiers, both Union Confederate; it was the location of the Pest House smallpox quarantine hospital; and it was the location of the quartermaster’s glanders stable for innovative medical research on a disease affecting the Confederate cavalry horses. Each spot has more information on site.
Portions of this cemetery are still in active use. Since 1806 when the city founder John Lynch gave the first acre of land, it has been the final resting place for over 25,000 residents of this city. Included are a number of Civil War soldiers, both Union and Confederate, buried throughout the rest of the Cemetery. When possible, interpretive information and stories concerning these soldiers, as well as many other interesting citizens, are posted along the roadway and walkways.
Erected by Virginia Civil War Trails.
Marker series. This marker is included in the Virginia Civil War Trails marker series.| | | | 
By Bill Coughlin, April 26, 2007 | |
| | | 2. Closeup of Cemetery map | | |
Location. 37° 24.946′ N, 79° 9.489′ W. Marker is in Lynchburg, Virginia. Marker is on Taylor Street, on the left when traveling west. Click for map. Marker is across from the Cemetery Center at the back of the cemetery. Marker is at or near this postal address: 401 Taylor Street, Lynchburg VA 24501, United States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Inner Defences (approx. 0.3 miles away); Abram Frederick Biggers and Biggers School (approx. half a mile away); John Warwick Daniel (approx. half a mile away); Inner Defenses (approx. 0.6 miles away); Federal Hill (approx. 0.6 miles away); Court Street Baptist Church (approx. 0.6 miles away); Point of Honor (approx. 0.6 miles away); Latham's Battery (approx. 0.6 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Lynchburg.
More about this marker. On the left are two portraits and an inset photo:
George A. Diuguid, undertaker, handled over 2700 of the deaths in Lynchburg during the Civil War. His precise records enabled accurate tombstones to be placed at each grave many years later. Hundreds of these casualties were shipped home to families or to other cemeteries.
John Jay Terrell (1829-1922), the Quaker Doctor, played key roles in both fighting smallpox in the hospitals and in fighting | | | | 
By Bill Coughlin, April 26, 2007 | |
| | | 3. Confederate Section of Lynchburg's Old City Cemetery | | |
the glanders epidemic among horses and mules in the quartermaster’s stables.
Horses and mules were the essential vehicles of the American Civil War. Lynchburg was the depot for distribution of cavalry horses supplying the Army of Northern Virginia.
On the right is a map of the cemetery pointing out three locations with interpretive comments:
1. The Confederate Section is the burial ground for 2201 Confederate soldiers from 14 states. 187 Union soldiers were also buried here but were removed by government order in 1866 to a Federal cemetery near Norfolk. There are also 11 burials in Negro Row within this Section.
2. The Pest House Medical Museum recreates medical conditions in the wretched house of pestilence, a smallpox quarantine hospital at the time of the Civil War. Also recreated is the late 1800s office of local medical hero, Dr. John Jay Terrell.
3. Site of the Quartermaster’s Glanders Stable where early medical research was conducted on Confederate cavalry horses. The result of the important pathological examination by Drs. Terrell and Page was published in 1864 and was called the first important American contribution to veterinary medicine.
Regarding Old City Cemetery. This is one in a series of Civil War Trails markers interpreting the Battle of Lynchburg (17-18 June 1864) and the city's role in the Civil War. Select the Civil War Virtual Tour by Marker link below to see other related markers.| | | | 
By Bill Coughlin, April 26, 2007 | |
| | | 4. Mass Confederate grave. | | Grave marker indicates the 14 states of the dead. | | |
Also see . . . Civil War Lynchburg Virtual Tour by Markers. An eight stop Civil War Trails tour, with several Virginia state markers and other memorials added. (Submitted on December 8, 2007, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.)
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By Bill Coughlin, April 26, 2007 | |
| | | 5. Smallpox monument in Confederate Section of Old City Cemetery | | In memory of the Confederate soldiers who died of smallpox in the hospitals of Lynchburg during the war between the states. | | |
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Credits. This page originally submitted on December 2, 2007, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 2,488 times since then. Last updated on April 7, 2011, by Jonathan Carruthers of Bealeton, Virginia. Photos: 1. submitted on December 2, 2007, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey. 2. submitted on December 29, 2007, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey. 3, 4, 5. submitted on December 2, 2007, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
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