Remembering the Fallen
“It is hoped that the younger generations, which have witnessed their unselfish devotion will emulate their virtues.”
Memorializing the Confederate Dead
Immediately after the Civil War, Southern women began efforts to care for and memorialize the Confederate dead. Women in Winchester, Virginia, formed an association in 1865 to move the dead buried at scattered battlefields to a single cemetery. Their success inspired women across the South. Independent groups, known simply as Ladies’ Memorial Associations, flourished.
Phillip County Memorial Association
In May 1869, a group of women formed the Phillips County Memorial Association. They wanted a beautiful cemetery, each grave marked with a marble stone, where the remains of Confederate soldiers would be cared for forever.
The group elected Mrs. John T. Jones of Lexa and Mary Lambert of Helena as President and Vice-President, respectively. The women immediately began soliciting support for their mission.
Mrs. John T. Jones, This drawing appeared in the Helena World in 1892.
Helena’s Confederate Cemetery
Support for the Memorial Association’s plans came almost immediately from Helena businessmen Henry P. Coolidge, Henry C. Rightor and Albertus Wilkins. The trio donated this plot of land, which the women named Confederate Hill. By April 1870, the Association had moved remains of twenty-three soldiers to the new cemetery. Many had died in the July 1863 Battle of Helena.
Each year, the Association decorated the graves, reminding people of the sacrifice these men had made. Confederate veterans applauded the women and requested to be buried in the cemetery when they died. Today, over one hundred men rest in Confederate Cemetery.
The ladies’ memorial Association movement was not confined to the South. Here, women decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers who died in Elmira, New York.
Erected by Support
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is April 1870.
Location. 34° 32.547′ N, 90° 35.415′ W. Marker is in Helena, Arkansas, in Phillips County. It is on Franklin Street. Marker in Maple Hill Cemetery at foot of hill were are buried Civil War Soldiers. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Helena AR 72342, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Arkansas Delta, in Crowley’s Ridge, in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, and in the Quapaw Homeland. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in the Mississippi Delta, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, the Louisiana Purchase, one
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: A Grand Memorial (here, next to this marker); “Let him sleep now with his brave companions” (here, next to this marker); Service with Distinction (within shouting distance of this marker); Patrick Ronayne Cleburne (approx. 0.2 miles away); Fight at the Levee (approx. 0.3 miles away); Battery A (approx. 0.4 miles away); Pippengerville (approx. 0.6 miles away); Battery B (approx. ¾ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Helena.
Credits. This page was last revised on July 31, 2020. It was originally submitted on September 1, 2017, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 349 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 1, 2017, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
