The Confederate Section

The Confederate Section. . In 1885, after the War Between the States, the local veterans of Portsmouth and Norfolk County formed the Stonewall Camp, United Confederate Veterans. This Camp remained active until 1929 when the last three members bequeathed their assets to the Sons and Daughters of Confederate Veterans. This section was among their possessions, having been obtained by the Camp, for the purpose of providing needy veterans an honorable last resting place., In 1903 the Portsmouth Ladies Memorial Aid Association erected the Confederate Monument in honor of those who served. In addition, they placed granite headstones identifying each Confederate grave throughout this and Oak Grove Cemetery, just 3/4 miles west. Note that each headstone has been re-inscribed on the rear and the stone reversed. Stonewall Camp #380, Sons of Confederate Veterans, accomplished this in 1997 because most had become illegible over the many years., The memorial to the CSS Virginia was erected by Stonewall Camp #380, Sons of Confederate Veterans on Memorial Day 1996. It is the only monument honoring all those associated with the construction and manning of the Ironclad. The granite is in the original shape and size as it formed a part of the first Dry Dock built in America built in 1832. It was in Dry Dock #1 of the Gosport Navy Yard that the CSS Virginia was constructed from the burned hull of the USS Merricac.