Newberry in Newberry County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Calvin Crozier Murder Site
Photographed By Brian Scott, November 1, 2008
1. Calvin Crozier Murder Site Marker - Front
Front
Colonel Charles Trowbridge of the 33rd U.S. Colored Troops ordered the execution of Calvin Crozier, former private 3rd Kentucky Cavalry, on Sept. 8, 1865. Crozier, while en route to his Texas home, cut a troop member on the back of the neck during a quarrel concerning two ladies traveling with Crozier. Soldiers of the 33rd arrested an innocent man for the assault, but Crozier identified himself as the assailant. He was
Reverse
taken to 33rd headquarters, shot, and buried in a shallow grave about 100 yards south. The same day residents of Newberry exhumed the body, placed it in a coffin, and reburied it. In 1891 citizens moved Crozier's remains to Rosemont Cemetery about 1.4 miles west and erected a monument to his memory. The army court-martialed Trowbridge for Crozier's execution.
Erected 1994 by John M. Kinard Camp #35, Sons of Confederate Veterans. (Marker Number 36-13.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Sons of Confederate Veterans/United Confederate Veterans series list. A significant historical month for this entry is September 1901.
Location. 34° 16.167′ N, 81° 37.017′ W. Marker is in Newberry, South Carolina, in Newberry County. Marker is on Nance Street, on the left when traveling south. Marker is located just south of the railriad crodding
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 10 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Henry McNeal Turner (about 800 feet away, measured in a direct line); Newberry Village Cemetery (approx. 0.2 miles away); Korean War (approx. 0.4 miles away); Newberry County Confederate Monument (approx. 0.4 miles away); Calvin Crozier (approx. 0.4 miles away); Newberry (approx. 0.4 miles away); National WWII Memorial (approx. 0.4 miles away); Newberry County World War I Monument (approx. 0.4 miles away); Old Court House (approx. 0.4 miles away); Vietnam War (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Newberry.
Also see . . .
1. The Death of Calvin S. Crozier. Calvin Crozier was brutally murdered September 8, 1865, by negro soldiers of the Thirty-third United States colored regiment, under command of Col. Charles T. Trowbridge. (Submitted on November 3, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)
2. General Charles Devens. Charles Devens (April 4, 1820 – January 7, 1891) was an American lawyer, jurist and statesman who was a key figure in the investigation into the unlawful execution of Confederate veteran Calvin Crozier by soldiers of the 33rd Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops, at Newberry, SC in September 1865 following an altercation. Over Devens' strong objections the officer who took responsibility for the lynching was exonerated and returned to duty. (Submitted on November 3, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)
Photographed By Brian Scott, November 1, 2008
2. Calvin Crozier Murder Site Marker - Reverse
3. Calvin Crozier gravesite & monument. (Submitted on February 10, 2016.)
Additional commentary.
1. The Ballad of Calvin Crozier
The Ballad of Calvin Crozier
(Words and music by Kirk McLeod, arranged by Seven Nations)
Good people of this town
You'd do well to gather around
There is something that I must say
A good man died here on this day
You'd do well to know his name
And it's here his gravestone lays
He was free and the soldiers didn't understand
When he returned and gave his life for another man
Calvin Crozier
They made him dig his grave
Calvin Crozier
Then they shot him where he lay
Then the soldiers danced, well they danced all night
On the shallow grave of Calvin Crozier
He had fought for four long years
Seen his share of blood and tears
He had earned his long ride home
In a boxcar for the night
Union soldiers for delight
Came to make their presence known
He was free and the soldiers didn't understand
When he returned and gave his life for another man
Calvin Crozier
They made him dig his grave
Calvin Crozier
Then they shot him where he lay
Then the soldiers danced, well they danced all night
On the shallow grave of Calvin Crozier
— Submitted November 3, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. 
Photographed By Brian Scott, November 1, 2008
3. Calvin Crozier Murder Site Marker - Front, Looking Northwest
2. Interview; Kirk Mcleod, Author of The Ballad of Calvin Crozier
Celtic Grove: Your stature as a song writer continues to grow with each major release. We've seen very good commentaries on your song writing abilities in such major magazines as "Dirty Linen". There is a great personal touch to your songs and they seem to speak to something many Celtic music fans have in their hearts. "Can you tell us about the song writing experience and the drive you feel towards it?"
Kirk Mcleod: My first major motivation with the song writing is to capture a feeling. I want to capture a feeling in a bottle almost, so I can carry it around and share it with everyone. It is a very personal thing , but I love my heritage so of course that is what I'm going to write about as well. Some songs have a historical content of course, which may relate to my heritage or not, but they are there because I may have heard a story along the way somewhere that affected me, such as Calvin Crozier for example; you know I was really touched by that story so I write that up, so I can really capture the feeling once again that I had when I heard the story, and I want to share it with someone. And again, it's typically something that relates to my heritage in some way, or some very personal experience.
CG: Your heritage obviously means a lot to you and has had a great influence on your song writing. The story of Calvin Crozier was one that particularly sparked my imagination, so much that we are reprinting an article concerning his life
Photographed By Brian Scott, November 1, 2008
4. Calvin Crozier Murder Site Marker - Reverse, Looking Southeast
KM: Well I think it's the same deal, you know, my heritage is not only Celtic but also Southern American culture. So, once again I'm writing in general, but maybe that story touched me in particular because I had a lot of family who fought for the South. I have a lot of sympathy for what all the Southern people suffered during the occupation. In history, in school it's called "Reconstruction" but it should also be called "Occupation" because the South was a conquered country at the time. If I have one mission for my writing, I'd like to expose some of the white-washed periods of our own history, and lend clarity if I can...even if I can only get through to a couple of people.
I'm no white-supremecist or anything at all like that .... but I do have a problem with the stigmatism that the South has, and I want to address that in my writing if I can. With that song, the thing I really wanted to focus on was the sacrifice of the guy's life. I wanted to focus on the sacrifice he made and not on any racial issue really. I think we have a lot of problems today related to race ... and I'm really heartbroken by that fact, because I think it stems from the way it was abolished in this violent way. In countries
Photographed By Mike Stroud
5. Calvin Crozier Murder Site Marker along Nance Street
— Submitted November 3, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 17, 2020. It was originally submitted on November 3, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 4,364 times since then and 67 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on November 3, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. 5. submitted on May 8, 2012, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina.
