Shepherdstown in Jefferson County, West Virginia — The American South (Appalachia)

Welcome to the Confederate Cemetery

Photographed By Pete Skillman, November 21, 2018

1. Welcome to the Confederate Cemetery Marker

Inscription.

Welcome to the Confederate Cemetery. . In September 1862 following the Civil War Battles at South Mountain and Sharpsburg, wounded soldiers began pouring into Shepherdstown. Mary Bedinger Mitchell, 12 years old at the time, was living just outside of town at Poplar Grove, and remembered that, "The wounded continued to arrive until the town was quite unable to hold any more disabled and suffering. They filled every building and overflowed into the country round, every inch of space, and yet the cry was for more room." Eventually, many of the wounded moved on. For a few, Shepherdstown was their final resting place., In 1867, the Southern Soldiers Memorial Association of Shepherdstown was founded "for the purpose of collecting into a burial ground the bodies of Confederate Soldiers killed during the Civil War and caring for their graves and perpetuating the memory of their heroic deeds." In 1868, the group, led by Joseph McMurran, James Madison Hendricks, William L. Arthur, John Will Taylor and John William Benjamin Frazier, purchased "a piece of land" from Jacob Line adjacent to the Methodist Cemetery to serve as the final resting place for men who were either killed or died from wounds received during the Maryland Campaign. Initially their interments were marked with wooden headstones. The Confederate Cemetery was formally dedicated on Saturday, June 5, 1869 and transferred to the care of Elmwood by 1871. In 1884, the Southern Soldiers Memorial Association had the wooden markers replaced with marble headstones., Today among the 171 standing headstones, there are 112 known burials for the state of Georgia (22), Virginia (20), North Carolina (19), South Carolina (12), Louisiana (6), Mississippi (6), Alabama (4), Florida (3), and Texas (3). Fifteen men are named but no state is given. The names of 59 of the men buried here are Unknown., Wayside courtesy Jefferson County Historical Society, 2018 . This historical marker was erected in 2018 by Jefferson County Historical Society. It is in Shepherdstown in Jefferson County West Virginia

In September 1862 following the Civil War Battles at South Mountain and Sharpsburg, wounded soldiers began pouring into Shepherdstown. Mary Bedinger Mitchell, 12 years old at the time, was living just outside of town at Poplar Grove, and remembered that, "The wounded continued to arrive until the town was quite unable to hold any more disabled and suffering. They filled every building and overflowed into the country round, every inch of space, and yet the cry was for more room." Eventually, many of the wounded moved on. For a few, Shepherdstown was their final resting place.

In 1867, the Southern Soldiers Memorial Association of Shepherdstown was founded "for the purpose of collecting into a burial ground the bodies of Confederate Soldiers killed during the Civil War and caring for their graves and perpetuating the memory of their heroic deeds." In 1868, the group, led by Joseph McMurran, James Madison Hendricks, William L. Arthur, John Will Taylor and John William Benjamin Frazier, purchased "a piece of land" from Jacob Line adjacent to the Methodist Cemetery to serve as the final resting place for men who were either killed

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or died from wounds received during the Maryland Campaign. Initially their interments were marked with wooden headstones. The Confederate Cemetery was formally dedicated on Saturday, June 5, 1869 and transferred to the care of Elmwood by 1871. In 1884, the Southern Soldiers Memorial Association had the wooden markers replaced with marble headstones.

Today among the 171 standing headstones, there are 112 known burials for the state of Georgia (22), Virginia (20), North Carolina (19), South Carolina (12), Louisiana (6), Mississippi (6), Alabama (4), Florida (3), and Texas (3). Fifteen men are named but no state is given. The names of 59 of the men buried here are Unknown.

Wayside courtesy Jefferson County Historical Society, 2018

Erected 2018 by Jefferson County Historical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is June 5, 1869.

Location. 39° 25.717′ N, 77° 48.76′ W. Marker is in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, in Jefferson County. Marker can be reached from the intersection of Kearneysville Pike (West Virginia Route 480) and Minden Street, on the right when traveling south. Located in Elmwood Cemetery near the main entrance. Touch for map. Marker is at or near

The Confederate Cemetery inside Elmwood Cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Pete Skillman, November 21, 2018

2. The Confederate Cemetery inside Elmwood Cemetery

this postal address: 4849 Kearneysville Pike, Shepherdstown WV 25443, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Memorial To Confederate Soldiers (a few steps from this marker); Spirit of 1775 (a few steps from this marker); Confederate Dead (a few steps from this marker); Elmwood Cemetery (within shouting distance of this marker); Confederate Soldiers in Elmwood Cemetery / Colonel Henry Kyd Douglas (within shouting distance of this marker); Elmwood Cemetery Vault (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Trinity Episcopal Church (approx. 0.3 miles away); Reformed Church Parsonage (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Shepherdstown.

Credits. This page was last revised on March 15, 2022. It was originally submitted on March 15, 2022, by Pete Skillman of Townsend, Delaware. This page has been viewed 153 times since then and 45 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 15, 2022, by Pete Skillman of Townsend, Delaware. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.