- Joined
- Sep 2, 2019
- Location
- Raleigh, North Carolina
Recently I visited the Confederate Cemetery here in Raleigh at Historic Oakwood Cemetery. The confederate section is on a hill across from the cemetery's office, near the front gates, at 701 Oakwood Ave., Raleigh NC 27601. According to one source, the Confederate Cemetery had a controversial beginning.
The Confederate Cemetery here was used for the reinterment of Confederate dead, especially North Carolinians from various original sites, even as far away as Gettysburg and the National Cemetery at Arlington. The gathering of remains continued from the end of the war through the late 1800s. I've read in some places that the Confederate Cemetery holds 1,500 soldiers; however, the cemetery itself put the number at 1,388 as of 2010.
According to the History of the Ladies' Memorial Association of Wake County (pp. 7,8) , which organized and cared for the cemetery:
"When the Federal army came to Raleigh and took possession of Pettigrew Hospital ... our Confederate dead were peacefully sleeping in a beautiful lot near by. The Federal officer in command selected this place for the interment of their own dead, and sent word to the mayor of the City that the bodies must be removed, as they desired that spot for the burial of their own dead.
"Following this order came the threat that if the Confederate soldiers buried there were not removed in two days, their bodies would be thrown in the road."
The history says land was donated by landowner Henry Mordecai to create a cemetery, and soldiers' remains were quickly removed from the Rock Quarry area to the new location, now at Oakwood.
The Confederate Cemetery is known as the resting place of Lt. Robert Walsh, 11th Texas Cavalry, known by some as "Raleigh's lone defender" and "the only casualty of the Battle of Raleigh." ("But there was no Battle of Raleigh!" said one astonished visitor to a group of locals visiting the grave. They smiled and said, "For Robert Walsh there was.")
Early in the day on 13 April 1865, Federal forces under Gen. Judson Kilpatrick entered Raleigh, the capital city of North Carolina, which had been surrendered. Gen. Joseph Wheeler's Confederate cavalry had left the city, but Walsh remained behind. As Kilpatrick's forces came down Fayetteville Street, Walsh placed himself at the head of the street and emptied his pistol at them. U.S. cavalrymen captured him, and Kilpatrick ordered him to be hanged at once.
Roy B. -- 22 October 2019
According to the History of the Ladies' Memorial Association of Wake County (pp. 7,8) , which organized and cared for the cemetery:
"When the Federal army came to Raleigh and took possession of Pettigrew Hospital ... our Confederate dead were peacefully sleeping in a beautiful lot near by. The Federal officer in command selected this place for the interment of their own dead, and sent word to the mayor of the City that the bodies must be removed, as they desired that spot for the burial of their own dead.
"Following this order came the threat that if the Confederate soldiers buried there were not removed in two days, their bodies would be thrown in the road."
The history says land was donated by landowner Henry Mordecai to create a cemetery, and soldiers' remains were quickly removed from the Rock Quarry area to the new location, now at Oakwood.
Early in the day on 13 April 1865, Federal forces under Gen. Judson Kilpatrick entered Raleigh, the capital city of North Carolina, which had been surrendered. Gen. Joseph Wheeler's Confederate cavalry had left the city, but Walsh remained behind. As Kilpatrick's forces came down Fayetteville Street, Walsh placed himself at the head of the street and emptied his pistol at them. U.S. cavalrymen captured him, and Kilpatrick ordered him to be hanged at once.
Roy B. -- 22 October 2019