Washington Confederate Cemetery
39°38′34″N 77°43′12″W / 39.64278°N 77.72000°W
| Washington Confederate Cemetery | |
|---|---|
| Est. by State of Maryland | |
 | |
| For Confederate soldiers | |
| Established | 1871 |
| Unveiled | 1877 |
| Location | near |
| Total burials | 2,000 |
Unknowns | 1,664 |
| Commemorated | ~2000 |
| Burials by nation | |
| Burials by war | |
The Washington Confederate Cemetery is a Confederate Cemetery in Hagerstown, Maryland. Its burials include Confederate dead from such nearby battles as Antietam, Gettysburg, Monocacy and South Mountain. Less than 20 percent of its burials are identified. It was established in 1871 as a section of the Rose Hill Cemetery.
History
In 1869, Governor Oden Bowie, of Maryland, requested that the state should take care of the Confederate dead from the battlefields of western Maryland. Wind, water, and animals had exposed the dead, hurriedly buried in shallow graves. Governor Bowie had hired Thomas Boullt to find and identify the Confederate dead buried in Washington and Frederick counties. Boullt and his team identified ad hoc burial sites from throughout the western part of the state, primarily from the battlefields at Antietam, Monocacy and South Mountain, but also from skirmishes and from Robert E. Lee's retreat from Gettysburg.[1]
In 1871 the Maryland General Assembly bought land in Hagerstown, Maryland, from the newly established (1865) Rose Hill Cemetery. With this land, the Assembly created the Washington Confederate Cemetery as part of the larger public cemetery. The States of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia removed more than 2,000 dead from battlefield and skirmish sites and reburied then in the cemetery. In the course of removal and reburial, only 346 soldiers were identified.[2]
One of the identified dead, Isaac E. Avery, died in action on July 2, 1863, at the Battle of Gettysburg. On that evening, his brigade stormed Cemetery Hill, trying to dislodge the Union forces. Halfway up the hill, he was hit in the throat by a musket ball. Mortally wounded, he fell from his horse. He scrawled his final words on a piece of paper: "Tell my father I died with my face to the enemy."[3]
Monument
The Statue of Hope Monument was placed on February 28, 1877 and dedicated on June 15, 1877. The dedication speaker was General Fitzhugh Lee, nephew of Robert E. Lee, and himself a cavalry general officer in the American Civil War. The monument inscription reads: "The State of Maryland has provided this cemetery and erected this monument to perpetuate the memory of the Confederate dead who fell in the Battles of Antietam and South Mountain." Standing 19 feet (5.8 m) high, overlooks the section of the 110 acres (45 ha) Rose Hill Cemetery where the Confederate dead are buried.[4] On September 3, 1961 the monument was rededicated with former President Dwight D. Eisenhower as the guest speaker.[2]
Rose Hill Cemetery
Washington Confederate Cemetery is a cemetery within a cemetery: a subsection of the Rose Hill Cemetery, established in 1865, located at 600 South Potomac Street Hagerstown, MD.[2] The Rose Hill site was originally part of a tract of land granted to the Wroe family by the King of England; the Wroe home was located on a hill, subsequently becoming known as "Wroe's Hill". In 1865, the state legislature chartered the property as a cemetery for the citizens of Washington County, Maryland, and changed the name to Rose Hill.[4]
Notes
- ^ Oden Bowie. A Descriptive List of the Remains of Confederate Soldiers Who Fell in the Battles of Antietam, South Mountain, Monocacy, and Other Points in Washington and Frederick Counties, In the State of Maryland. Free Press Print Hagerstown, MD, 1868.
- ^ a b c Washington Confederate Cemetery. Rosehill Cemetery website. Accessed 9 May 2010.
- ^ Ethan F. Bishop. "Isaac Avery". Findagrave.com. Accessed 9 May 2010.
- ^ a b About Rose Hill Cemetery: History. Rose Hill Cemetery Website. Accessed 9 May 2010.
Bibliography
- Bishop, Ethan. "Isaac Avery". Findagrave.com. Accessed 9 May 2010.
- Bowie, Oden. A Descriptive List of the Remains of Confederate Soldiers Who Fell in the Battles of Antietam, South Mountain, Monocacy, and Other Points in Washington and Frederick Counties, In the State of Maryland. Free Press Print Hagerstown, MD, 1868.
- Rose Hill Cemetery. History and Washington Confederate Cemetery. Rose Hill Cemetery website. Accessed 9 May 2010.