Is Colonel Garrott's Body Still Under A Vicksburg Street?

I had a fellow relic hunter tell me about an officers grave close behind the CS lines. The grave had been plundered, but a friend and I found a couple pieces of skull, and had him reinterred. There was very little left, bone-wise.
It all depends on the soil. That’s the determining factor in bone decomposition. The soldier we found years back had “squishy” bones and in not good shape
 
I had a fellow relic hunter tell me about an officers grave close behind the CS lines. The grave had been plundered, but a friend and I found a couple pieces of skull, and had him reinterred. There was very little left, bone-wise.
That's horrible !

A similar event happened on an acre or two that bordered our family land, on the "back forty" as they say.

There was an old gentleman ( CSA veteran ) that had a small home back there and lived alone. He was referred to as
"the hermit". After he died during the 1920's , rumors began circulating that he had a large sum of gold coins buried with him.

Shaking my head !!!

( The poor old guy died almost penniless )

But during the 1930s, his resting place was desecrated by grave robbers looking for the alleged gold coins.

Thankfully by the the 1960's he had a proper CSA monument erected by his relatives & the SCV.
It was kind of odd walking upon such a monument "in the middle of nowhere".

But back on topic, I honestly hope Colonel Isham Garrott is not under a street in Vicksburg.
 
I wouldn’t be surprised if some relic hunter hadn’t already dug him up. One of the more successful hunters lived next to the old Finney plantation. He had a beautiful tongue to a Leech and Rigdon officers sword belt plate that he supposedly found in his yard.
Do the initials M.A. mean anything to you?
 
I can think of worse places.
The story that I heard many decades ago from Blanche Terry was that, because there was no stone marking his grave, the exact location was forgotten. Probably the fact that anyone was buried there was forgotten as well.

In widening the street some bones were uncovered and it wasn't realized that they belonged to anyone of importance. What happened to the bones is unknown.

One would think that there would be something in the Vicksburg newspapers about his bones being found, if anyone was aware of it.

If this story is true, I suppose its possible that some of his bones might still be in the ground there. Or maybe they were all recovered and given some type of reburial, even if his identity was not known.

I like that idea better than that people are driving over his remains.

This one probably has to go in the file with exactly what happened to Amelia Earhart and other true mysteries.
 
That's horrible !

A similar event happened on an acre or two that bordered our family land, on the "back forty" as they say.

There was an old gentleman ( CSA veteran ) that had a small home back there and lived alone. He was referred to as
"the hermit". After he died during the 1920's , rumors began circulating that he had a large sum of gold coins buried with him.

Shaking my head !!!

( The poor old guy died almost penniless )

But during the 1930s, his resting place was desecrated by grave robbers looking for the alleged gold coins.

Thankfully by the the 1960's he had a proper CSA monument erected by his relatives & the SCV.
It was kind of odd walking upon such a monument "in the middle of nowhere".

But back on topic, I honestly hope Colonel Isham Garrott is not under a street in
I know M.A.
that man dug at least 1,000 shells!!! He was very successful with metal detecting.
He hated me, I dug well over 1000!
 
The story that I heard many decades ago from Blanche Terry was that, because there was no stone marking his grave, the exact location was forgotten. Probably the fact that anyone was buried there was forgotten as well.

In widening the street some bones were uncovered and it wasn't realized that they belonged to anyone of importance. What happened to the bones is unknown.

One would think that there would be something in the Vicksburg newspapers about his bones being found, if anyone was aware of it.

If this story is true, I suppose its possible that some of his bones might still be in the ground there. Or maybe they were all recovered and given some type of reburial, even if his identity was not known.

I like that idea better than that people are driving over his remains.

This one probably has to go in the file with exactly what happened to Amelia Earhart and other true mysteries.
I worked with Blanche at the Old Courthouse. She was a wealth of information.
 
June 17, 1863, Confederate Colonel Isham W Garrott while using a borrowed musket was trying to takeout a yankee sharpshooter when he was killed instantly by the sharpshooter.
View attachment 392496

Col Garrott was the commander of the 20th Alabama and took over the brigade after Gen Tracy was killed at Port Gibson. Fort Garrott is named after him. Col. Garrott was promoted to brigadier general, but he died on the firing line before he received word of his promotion, and the promotion was not awarded posthumously.
View attachment 392498

He was buried on the Finney plantation, called Lonewood, which was located on the southwest corner of Speed and Drummond Streets. His grave was located under what is now Finney Street, between Drummond and Cherry Streets. The grave was under a window at Lonewood, and his remains were never moved, according to a letter from Garrott’s wife. Many believe that his body was eventually moved to Soldiers Rest where his memorial marker stands. I can't find and info on his body being remove to the Soldiers Rest so are his remains still under a street in Vicksburg?
View attachment 392497
Did you ask Terry Winschel or Gordon Cotton? 🙂
 
He hated me, I dug well over 1000!
Back in those days Stevie Wonder could find arty shells at Vburg, when I would go over and hunt with Ken & Rocky if you didn't find at least 50 on a weekend it was a slow one.
 
So, I'm probably dense, but wouldn't someone buried under what became a street at some point after the burial have been found when water and sewer lines were dug and installed?
Once upon a time when I was a firefighter, I went to connect to a fire hydrant at a fire that was located across the street from an old cemetery and to make a long story short; the ground gave way and I ended up in an unmarked grave...I wasn't very happy about this and I doubt that the occupant was either. As it turned out, it wasn't unusual for people who couldn't afford plots in the cemetery for their loved ones to bury them in unmarked graves outside of the cemetery's walls.
 
Back
Top