Located on the Manassas National Battlefield, this cemetery contains the remains of Confederate soldiers from the First and Second Battles of Manassas.
LANDMARK DETAILS
During the 1st and 2nd Battles of Manassas, heavy fire often kept either side from claiming their dead, and after both battles the armies had to maneuver quickly. Some of the wounded lay for days in the blistering sun.
Neither side had anticipated the war's cost in blood. After the fighting at Manassas, burial details dug shallow graves where soldiers had fallen. There was little time for ceremony. Crude wooden headboards sometimes noted the soldier's name and regiment. Many went to their graves anonymously. The process took weeks. Autumn rains soon washed away the thin cover of soil, exposing the remains.
The Bull Run and Groveton Ladies' Memorial Association, established in 1867, launched a campaign to recover Confederate dead from the battlefield. The organization established this cemetery and orchestrated the re-interment of an estimated 500 soldiers. Few could be identified and only two graves have individual headstones.
Many of the Union dead were reburied in Arlington National Cemetery.
Of the 266 soldiers buried here, only two are fully identified.
KNOWN BURIALS
MONUMENT TEXT
Erected by the Bull Run Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and dedicated on August 31, 1904, the memorial is dedicated to memory of the Confederate soldiers whom gave their lives at the Second Battle of Manassas, August 28 to 30, 1862.
(Translation to Latin Text at top of monument: "It is right and proper to die for one’s country.")
(south face)
(A stanza from the poem “March of the Deathless Dead” by Father Abram J. Ryan, Confederate Army Chaplain.)
LOCATION MAP
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS
New iron fence surrounding the cemetery, ca. 1902, NPS Photo
The Morning Post, 31 Aug 1904, Wed, Page 2
The Washington Post, 31 Aug 1904, Wed, Page 4
The New York Times, 31 Aug 1904, Wed, Page 7
The Groveton Confederate Cemetery, ca. 1930, NPS Photo
RELATED LINKS
LANDMARK DETAILS
- Battlefield: Manassas National Battlefield Park, Manassas, VA
- Location: Lee Highway, U.S. 29, east of Groveton Road / Featherbed Lane
- Map Coordinates: +38° 48' 50", -77° 32' 45"
- Established: 1867
- Number of Burials: 266 Confederate soldiers
- Known: 2
- Unknown: 264
- Current Owner: National Park Service (Acquired in 1973)
- Admission: Free and open to the general public
During the 1st and 2nd Battles of Manassas, heavy fire often kept either side from claiming their dead, and after both battles the armies had to maneuver quickly. Some of the wounded lay for days in the blistering sun.
Neither side had anticipated the war's cost in blood. After the fighting at Manassas, burial details dug shallow graves where soldiers had fallen. There was little time for ceremony. Crude wooden headboards sometimes noted the soldier's name and regiment. Many went to their graves anonymously. The process took weeks. Autumn rains soon washed away the thin cover of soil, exposing the remains.
The Bull Run and Groveton Ladies' Memorial Association, established in 1867, launched a campaign to recover Confederate dead from the battlefield. The organization established this cemetery and orchestrated the re-interment of an estimated 500 soldiers. Few could be identified and only two graves have individual headstones.
Many of the Union dead were reburied in Arlington National Cemetery.
Of the 266 soldiers buried here, only two are fully identified.
KNOWN BURIALS
- James Jerman Palmer
- William Goodwyn Rilley
MONUMENT TEXT
Erected by the Bull Run Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and dedicated on August 31, 1904, the memorial is dedicated to memory of the Confederate soldiers whom gave their lives at the Second Battle of Manassas, August 28 to 30, 1862.
(Translation to Latin Text at top of monument: "It is right and proper to die for one’s country.")
DULCE ET DECORUM
EST PRO PATRIA MORI.
ERECTED
BY THE
UNITED DAUGHTERS
OF THE
CONFEDERACY
TO THE
CONFEDERATE
DEAD
WE CARE NOT WHENCE THEY CAME,
DEAR IN THEIR LIFELESS CLAY!
WHETHER UNKNOWN OR KNOWN TO FAME,
THEIR CAUSE AND COUNTRY STILL THE SAME.
THEY DIED—AND WORE THE GRAY.
EST PRO PATRIA MORI.
ERECTED
BY THE
UNITED DAUGHTERS
OF THE
CONFEDERACY
TO THE
CONFEDERATE
DEAD
WE CARE NOT WHENCE THEY CAME,
DEAR IN THEIR LIFELESS CLAY!
WHETHER UNKNOWN OR KNOWN TO FAME,
THEIR CAUSE AND COUNTRY STILL THE SAME.
THEY DIED—AND WORE THE GRAY.
(A stanza from the poem “March of the Deathless Dead” by Father Abram J. Ryan, Confederate Army Chaplain.)
They sleep well
in their unknown graves on this far-away battle field. |
They gave their lives
in defense of their country on the fields of the First and Second Manassas. |
But for them the
counting of time is not: for they dwell in the City of God. |
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS
New iron fence surrounding the cemetery, ca. 1902, NPS Photo
The Morning Post, 31 Aug 1904, Wed, Page 2
The Washington Post, 31 Aug 1904, Wed, Page 4
The New York Times, 31 Aug 1904, Wed, Page 7
The Groveton Confederate Cemetery, ca. 1930, NPS Photo
RELATED LINKS
Re-Burying the Dead Historical Marker
Of the 266 soldiers buried here, only two are fully identified. • Heavy fire often kept either side from claiming the dead, and after both battles the armies had to maneuver quickly. (A historical marker located near Manassas in Prince William County, Virginia.)
www.hmdb.org
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