Dalton in Whitfield County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Dalton Confederate Cemetery

Honored in Death

— Atlanta Campaign Heritage Trail —

Dalton Confederate Cemetery Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, November 19, 2019

1. Dalton Confederate Cemetery Marker

Inscription.

Dalton Confederate Cemetery. Honored in Death. This cemetery was established during the Civil War on about four and one-half acres of Dalton's original ten-acre cemetery donated to the city by Duff Green on February 15, 1855. Today this much larger cemetery is known as West Hill. Over four hundred Confederate and four Federal soldiers, many of whom died in Dalton's military hospitals, now rest here. West Hill is also the final resting place of Confederate Brigadier General Bryan M. Thomas. A native of Milledgeville, Georgia and graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, Thomas lived in Dalton after the Civil War.

A veteran of many Western Theater battles, during the latter years of his life he served as superintendent of Dalton's public schools. Names of the Confederate soldiers buried here are inscribed on the Memorial Wall of gray Georgia granite erected by the General Joseph E. Johnston Camp #671, Sons of Confederate Veterans (S.C.V.), the Civil War Roundtable of Dalton, and the Private Drewry R. Smith Chapter #2522, United Daughters of the Confederacy (U.D.C.). It was dedicated on April 24, 1999.

During the war Dalton, located along the Western and Atlantic Railroad, connecting Chattanooga with Atlanta, was an accessible destination for transporting sick and wounded Confederate soldiers from distant battlefields. Many arrived by railroad after the 1862 and 1863 battles of Shiloh, Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga and Chattanooga. Among the first soldiers to die in Dalton were Corporal John G. Reynolds, Company E, 20th Alabama Volunteer Infantry Regiment, on April 20, 1862, and Corporal John A. McBryde, Company H, 23rd Alabama Volunteer Infantry Regiment, on June 17, 1862. The Oliver Hospital, opening in July 1862, was the first Confederate hospital in Dalton. The hospital is believed to have been named for John P. Oliver who owned the building it first occupied. Nine additional hospitals opened in Dalton during 1863 and early 1864. Smallpox and other diseases also took their toll on the hospitalized men. All hospitals closed or moved farther south before Dalton was occupied by Union Major General William T. Sherman's army on May 13, 1864.

The first Confederate Memorial Day service held here was led by the ladies of Dalton on April 26, 1866, the first anniversary of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's surrender in North Carolina to General Sherman. Veterans and their sons later planted beautiful oak trees to provide shade for the services. The Bryan M. Thomas Chapter #188, U.D.C., was organized in 1897 and continued the memorial tradition until the 1980s. Other groups, including the aforementioned organizations and the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society, have since participated.

The granite grave markers erected in 1900 by the Bryan M. Thomas Chapter, U.D.C., replaced the original wooden headboards. The ladies of the U.D.C. also acquired the wrought iron fence surrounding the cemetery. The Soldiers Memorial Statue, first erected in 1892, was moved to the Confederate Cemetery in 1976 when Thornton Avenue in downtown Dalton was widened. Future generations will come pay tribute to their fallen countrymen buried here.

This cemetery was established during the Civil War on about four and one-half acres of Dalton's original ten-acre cemetery donated to the city by Duff Green on February 15, 1855. Today this much larger cemetery is known as West Hill. Over four hundred Confederate and four Federal soldiers, many of whom died in Dalton's military hospitals, now rest here. West Hill is also the final resting place of Confederate Brigadier General Bryan M. Thomas. A native of Milledgeville, Georgia and graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, Thomas lived in Dalton after the Civil War.

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Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Georgia Civil War Trails series list. A significant historical date for this entry is February 15, 1855.

Location. 34° 46.097′ N, 84° 58.75′ W. Marker is in Dalton, Georgia, in Whitfield County. It can be reached from Evans Whitener Drive south of General Thomas Drive, on the left when traveling north. Located within Whitfield Memorial Gardens Cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 710 West Cuyler Street, Dalton GA 30720, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Georgia’s Mountains. It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

This marker, the cemetery, another marker about the cemetery & the Confederate Monument. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, November 19, 2019

2. This marker, the cemetery, another marker about the cemetery & the Confederate Monument.

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Confederate Cemetery (here, next to this marker); Dalton Confederate Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); Campaign for Atlanta: Johnston's Review (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Blunt House (approx. 0.4 miles away); George Whitefield (approx. half a mile away); William C. Martin House (approx. half a mile away); The McCarty Neighborhood (approx. 0.6 miles away); Tristram Dalton (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Dalton.

Another marker is no longer nearby. The McCarty Subdivision (was approx. 0.6 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Stone noting the 421 unknown soldiers buried here. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, November 19, 2019

3. Stone noting the 421 unknown soldiers buried here.

Some of the unknown soldier grave markers and the Confederate Monument image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, November 19, 2019

4. Some of the unknown soldier grave markers and the Confederate Monument

The U.D.C. Confederate Monument mentioned on the marker. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, November 19, 2019

5. The U.D.C. Confederate Monument mentioned on the marker.

Memorial listing names of the Confederate soldiers buried here. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, November 19, 2019

6. Memorial listing names of the Confederate soldiers buried here.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 28, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 23, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,667 times since then and 116 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on November 23, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.