Marietta in Cobb County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
Marietta Confederate Cemetery
"Garden of Heroes"
Atlanta Campaign Heritage Trail
Photographed by Mark Hilton, November 19, 2019
1. Marietta Confederate Cemetery Marker
Inscription.
Marietta Confederate Cemetery. "Garden of Heroes". This cemetery was established on property once owned by the First Baptist Church of Marietta. Following the church's move, John H. Glover, Marietta's first mayor, bought this parcel. His wife, Jane Porter Glover, permitted this quiet corner of their 3,000-acre Bushy Park Plantation to accommodate the burial of approximately 20 Confederate soldiers of the 50th Tennessee Infantry Regiment who perished in a train wreck north of Marietta on September 13, 1863. New graves were added following the Battle of Chickamauga on September 19 and 20, 1863. Major expansions occurred after the war's fighting reached nearby Kennesaw Mountain on June 27, 1864.
The greatest expansion of the cemetery took place after the war. In 1866, the Georgia Legislature appropriated $3,500 to collect the remains of Confederate soldiers who fell elsewhere and bring them to Marietta for reburial. Catherine Winn of the Ladies' Aid Society and Mary Green of the Georgia Memorial Association spearheaded the recovery effort. They organized groups of women to search for soldiers killed on the battlefields at Chickamauga, Ringgold, Kennesaw Mountain, Kolb Farm and other points north of the Chattahoochee River.
As the original wooden grave markers weathered away, the names of soldiers buried here were lost. In 1902, caretakers replaced the wooden markers with plain marble markers. The Ladies' Memorial Association turned the property over to the State of Georgia in 1908. That same year the Kennesaw Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy dedicated the tall marble veterans' monument "To Our Confederate Dead." Former Confederate Brigadier General Clement A. Evans referred to the cemetery as "a rare garden of heroes" when he helped dedicate the monument.
In 1910, an act of Congress returned Marietta's “Little Cannon” to the cemetery from an arsenal in Watervilet, New York. Captured near Savannah in 1864, its 6-pounder barrel had originally been cast before the war for the Georgia Military Institute's use. The barrel's Latin inscription, “Victrix fortunae Sapientia," translates to “Wisdom, the Victor over Fortune."
Also in 1910, fifteen identical markers were placed among the cemetery's headstones, One marker was placed for each of the eleven Confederate states, plus one for Kentucky, a single one for Maryland and Missouri, one for the Confederate Soldiers Home section, and one for the Hospital section. More than 3,000 Confederate soldiers now lie in the cemetery.
The Confederate Soldiers Home section includes the grave of Bill Yopp, an African-American drummer for the 14th Georgia Infantry Regiment. Born into slavery near Dublin, Georgia, Bill was the personal servant of Thomas Yopp. When Thomas joined the Confederate army, he took Bill with him. Bill performed various tasks for the soldiers, always charging ten cents. He gained the nickname “Ten Cent Bill.”
In his later years, Bill, who took the last name of his former master, re-joined Thomas Yopp at the Confederate Soldiers Home. Bill Yopp was made a member of the United Confederate Veterans before dying in 1936.
This cemetery was
established on property once
owned by the First Baptist
Church of Marietta.
Following the church's move,
John H. Glover, Marietta's
first mayor, bought this
parcel. His wife, Jane Porter
Glover, permitted this quiet
corner of their 3,000-acre
Bushy Park Plantation to accommodate the burial
of approximately 20 Confederate
soldiers of the 50th Tennessee Infantry
Regiment who perished in a train wreck
north of Marietta on September 13,
1863. New graves were added
following the Battle of Chickamauga
on September 19 and 20, 1863. Major
expansions occurred after the war's
fighting reached nearby Kennesaw
Mountain on June 27, 1864.
The greatest expansion of the
cemetery took place after the war. In
1866, the Georgia Legislature
appropriated $3,500 to collect the
remains of Confederate soldiers who
fell elsewhere and bring them to
Marietta for reburial. Catherine Winn
of the Ladies' Aid Society and Mary Green of the
Georgia Memorial Association spearheaded the
recovery effort. They organized groups of women
to search for soldiers killed on the battlefields at
Chickamauga, Ringgold, Kennesaw Mountain,
Kolb Farm and other points north of the
Chattahoochee River.
As the original wooden grave markers
weathered away, the names of soldiers buried here
were lost. In 1902, caretakers replaced the wooden
markers with plain marble markers. The Ladies'
Memorial Association turned the property over to
the State of Georgia in 1908. That same year the
Kennesaw Chapter of the United Daughters of the
Confederacy dedicated the tall marble veterans'
monument "To Our Confederate Dead." Former
Confederate Brigadier General Clement A. Evans
referred to the cemetery as "a rare garden of heroes"
when he helped dedicate the monument.
In 1910, an act of Congress returned Marietta's
“Little Cannon” to the cemetery from an arsenal
in Watervilet, New York. Captured near Savannah
in 1864, its 6-pounder barrel had originally
been cast before the war for the Georgia Military
Institute's use. The barrel's Latin inscription, “Victrix fortunae Sapientia,"
translates to “Wisdom, the Victor over Fortune."
Also in 1910, fifteen identical markers were placed among the
cemetery's headstones, One marker was placed for each of the
eleven Confederate states, plus one for Kentucky, a single one for
Maryland and Missouri, one for the Confederate Soldiers Home
section, and one for the Hospital section. More than 3,000
Confederate soldiers now lie in
the cemetery.
The Confederate Soldiers Home section includes the grave
of Bill Yopp, an African-American drummer for the 14th
Georgia Infantry Regiment. Born into slavery near Dublin,
Georgia, Bill was the personal servant of Thomas Yopp. When Thomas joined
the Confederate army, he took Bill with him. Bill performed various tasks for the soldiers, always charging ten cents. He gained the
nickname “Ten Cent Bill.”
In his later years, Bill, who took the last name of his
former master, re-joined Thomas Yopp at the
Confederate Soldiers Home. Bill Yopp was made a member
of the United Confederate Veterans before dying in 1936.
Erected by Georgia
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Civil War Heritage Trails, Inc. (Marker Number 22.)
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 June 27, 1864.
Location. 33° 56.745′ N, 84° 32.937′ W. Marker is in Marietta, Georgia, in Cobb County. It can be reached from West Atlanta Street SE north of Confederate Avenue, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: West Atlanta Street SE, Marietta GA 30064, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Georgia’s Piedmont and in Metro Atlanta. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. 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, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
3. View of the Confederate Cemetery and some State monuments.
Photographed by Mark Hilton, November 19, 2019
4. Our Confederate Dead monument from the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
Photographed by Mark Hilton, November 19, 2019
5. Marietta's 6-pounder "Little Cannon."
Photographed by Mark Hilton, November 19, 2019
6. Nearby Confederate Cemetery Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on May 29, 2020. It was originally submitted on November 26, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 1,141 times since then and 71 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on November 26, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
