CONFEDERATE CEMETERY STATISTICS
From: evergreen@pgtc.com
Dear Readers,
Do you know if anyone has ever published a book listing all the Confederate cemeteries in the United States with a history of each one?
I am trying to find out what–if any–claim to fame the Confederate Cemetery in Fayetteville, Arkansas, might have. As of this writing I am thinking it may just be the largest, all-Confederate, founded-by-women, and privately-owned Confederate Cemetery in the United States. Wow, you say! Yes, that is what I will say if I find out this is true.
As president of the Southern Memorial Association of Fayetteville, Arkansas, I am trying to confirm the above statement. From my research so far, the Confederate Cemetery in Fayetteville is the largest, all-Confederate, founded-by-women, privately-held Confederate cemetery in the United States. We do know for a fact that we can claim these four criteria for the State of Arkansas, but the entire United States?
Many Confederate cemeteries, remember, are actually sections of city or public cemeteries. The one in Fayetteville, however, was entirely secured and established for Confederate soldiers by women of Fayetteville in 1872 and maintained to this day by the same organization that the women founded. It is not part of any other cemetery or ever was. It is still privately maintained as well and exists on 3 acres and contains the remains of over 600-700+ Confederate soldiers.
Before we make any claims to this cemetery’s "fame" I would really like to make sure. If I am not mistaken, the largest privately-held Confederate cemetery in the United States is McGavock Confederate Cemetery in Franklin, Tennessee and it was established by the McGavock family.
Thanks for any help!
Deo Vindice,
Donna Schwieder, President
Southern Memorial Association
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~arsma/index.html
