Thomasville in Davidson County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Thomasville City Cemetery
Union of Combatants
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 2, 2010
1. Thomasville City Cemetery Marker
Inscription.
Thomasville City Cemetery. Union of Combatants. (Preface):
John W. Thomas, who represented this area in the state legislature in the mid-1800s, laid out the town of Thomasville in 1852 on the proposed route of the North Carolina Railroad. Three years later, the line was completed to the new town, and the first train passed through on January 20, 1856. By 1860, Thomasville was thriving with 308 residents, a female seminary and a shoe factory. After the war, the town became noted for its furniture-making industry, especially chair manufacturing. ===============. Thomasville grew during the Civil War at first because of the importance of its shoe factories and later because of the location here of hospitals and convalescent facilities for soldiers. The Union occupation of North Carolina’s coastal region in 1862 caused the first influx of civilian refugees and wounded soldiers. In March 1865, the last major Confederate army, commanded by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, brought its wounded here as it retreated during the campaign against Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s army. The battles of Averasboro and Bentonville (March 13 and March 19-21, 1865) resulted in many Confederate casualties and wounded Federal prisoners. Wayside hospitals were established in a tobacco warehouse and in the local Baptist and Methodist churches by Dr. Simon Baruch of South Carolina, later an authority on hygiene and water therapy and the father of renowned early-20th-century financier and presidential advisor Bernard Baruch. The dead from these hospitals, Northern and Southern, were buried in this cemetery together, a practice almost unknown during the war. More information concerning the city’s role in the war and the soldiers interred here is available at the Thomasville Depot, located one-half mile west at the intersection of East Main and Trade Streets.
(Preface):
John W. Thomas, who represented this area in the state legislature in the mid-1800s, laid out the town of Thomasville in 1852 on the proposed route of the North Carolina Railroad. Three years later, the line was completed to the new town, and the first train passed through on January 20, 1856. By 1860, Thomasville was thriving with 308 residents, a female seminary and a shoe factory. After the war, the town became noted for its furniture-making industry, especially chair manufacturing. ===============
Thomasville grew during the Civil War at first because of the importance of its shoe factories and later because of the location here of hospitals and convalescent facilities for soldiers. The Union occupation of North Carolina’s coastal region in 1862 caused the first influx of civilian refugees and wounded soldiers. In March 1865, the last major Confederate army, commanded by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, brought its wounded here as it retreated during the campaign against Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s army. The battles of Averasboro and Bentonville (March 13 and March 19-21, 1865) resulted in many Confederate casualties and wounded Federal prisoners. Wayside hospitals were established in a tobacco warehouse and in the local Baptist and Methodist churches by Dr. Simon Baruch of South Carolina, later
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an authority on hygiene and water therapy and the father of renowned early-20th-century financier and presidential advisor Bernard Baruch. The dead from these hospitals, Northern and Southern, were buried in this cemetery together, a practice almost unknown during the war. More information concerning the city’s role in the war and the soldiers interred here is available at the Thomasville Depot, located one-half mile west at the intersection of East Main and Trade Streets.
Erected by North Carolina Civil War Trails.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the North Carolina Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical month for this entry is January 1865.
Location. 35° 53.221′ N, 80° 4.838′ W. Marker is in Thomasville, North Carolina, in Davidson County. Marker can be reached from Memorial Park Drive, on the right when traveling west. The marker is located in Thomasville City Cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 203 Memorial Park Dr, Thomasville NC 27360, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Thomasville (approx. ¼ mile away); John W. Thomas (approx. 0.3 miles away); a different marker also named Thomasville (approx. 0.4 miles away); Smith Clinic (approx.
More about this marker. Three photos, Courtesy Library of Congress, appear at the lower part of the marker. The first is of a battlefield scene and has a caption of “Wounded soldiers often received their initial treatment on the battlefield. Union Surgeon Anson Hurd, 14th Indiana Volunteers, tends wounded Confederates in a field hospital after the Battle of Antietam, Sept. 1862.” The next one depicts “Wounded Union soldiers at the U.S. Sanitary Commission depot, Fredericksburg, Va., May 20, 1864.” The last photo is of the interior of a hospital and has the caption “Temporary hospitals were established in dwellings, churches, barns, warehouses and schools. This is a ward in a permanent facility, Harewood General Hospital, Washington, D.C., photographed during the war, showing mosquito netting for the patients’ beds.”
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 2, 2010
3. Marker in the Thomasville City Cemetery
The common plot for both Northern and Southern soldiers is seen to the left in this photo.
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 2, 2010
4. Thomasville City Cemetery Marker
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 2, 2010
5. Thomasville City Cemetery
The marker is located inside of Thomasville's City Cemetery seen here.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 13, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 9, 2010, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 1,217 times since then and 30 times this year. Last updated on May 8, 2023, by Michael Buckner of Durham, North Carolina. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 9, 2010, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
