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A Short History of
Confederate Hill In Loudon Park Cemetery in Baltimore,
Maryland, on a shade covered hill, overlooking a stream, rest the remains of hundreds
of Confederate soldiers and veterans. This place is known as Confederate
Hill. Those buried here are soldiers who died in Baltimore hospitals during the war, or were brought here from nearby battlefields. At the close of the war over two hundred Confederate soldiers were buried on the hill. During the 1870's, Maryland soldiers were brought here. |
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Today over six hundred graves are on Confederate
Hill. Confederate Memorial Day is an annual event at Loudon Park
Cemetery. The observances here were started by the Maryland Society of the Army
and Navy of the Confederate States. Today the services are held under the
auspices of the United Daughters of the Confederacy and Harry W. Gilmor #1388 of
the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
In 1873, the first monument was erected
upon the hill. Known as the "Stonewall" Jackson monument, it
continues to hold vigil over the dead and serves as the center of activity on
special occasions.
In 1874 the state of Maryland paid for
the removal of Maryland dead from Virginia battlefields for interment on Confederate
Hill. At the June 6th meeting of the Society of the Army and
Navy of the Confederate States, "The special committee appointed to
disburse the $5,000 appropriated by the Maryland Legislature for the proper
interment of the bodies of Confederate dead at Loudon Park Cemetery reported
the arrangements they had made to get the money."
The committee reported that a contract
was arranged to surround the soldiers' lot with a granite curb and that "James
H. Smith, late a sergeant of artillery, was engaged to disinter and forward the
bodies of Marylanders that had fallen upon the battle fields of Virginia."
The Society further concluded that the
amount appropriated by the Legislature "...though sufficient to put the
lot in order and remove the bodies of the dead, will not admit of placing
tombstones at the graves.
It is desired to put a plain marble
headstone, engraved with the name rank and command of each fallen soldier at
his grave. To do this will cost a great deal, and to obtain the funds an appeal
will be made on memorial day."
Because the foul weather on Confederate
Memorial Day in 1874 shortened the event, the collection of money to mark the
graves was not executed. The work, however, continued with the 1877 Memorial
Day account reporting a committee was appointed "to take up
subscriptions to raise money for the sixty headstones yet needed." And
"Rev. W. W. Walker made an appeal for aid in procuring these headstones.
They are for men whose names history cannot let die. About $500 was needed. The
committee collected $200 on the ground."
Nearly every year, a collection was
made to help pay for the upkeep of Confederate Hill and for the
purchase of headstones. And while these stones have worn with time, they stand
as a great tribute to the dedication of Marylanders and Baltimoreans in the
preservation of the Confederate soldiers' memory. These old stones, paid for by
the people who attended services on this hill and who witnessed the burial of
Confederate soldiers over one hundred and twenty years ago, are what give Confederate
Hill its unique beauty.
The burial of Maryland soldiers brought
from Virginia was an impressive part of Confederate Memorial Day services.
On June 10, 1874, Confederate Memorial
Day, the paper reported:
"...the remains of several
Confederate soldiers, which had been brought from the battle fields of
Virginia, were reinterred in the Confederate inclosure. These comprised the
remains of Lieut. Nicholas M. Snowden, company D, Wm. E. [S]immons, J.
Daugherty, John H. Baden, and J. Picke[t], company C, First Maryland regiment;
James Owens, Baltimore light cavalry; J. R. Hardesty, Chesapeake artillery; J.
T. Dutton, third battery; [Lt.] B. G. Roberts, Chesapeake artillery, and one
unknown.
The procession after reaching the place of
burial marched around the lots, and after forming around the newly made graves
in which the remains had already been deposited, but not filled up, the funeral
services took place. Rev. T. U. Dudley, of Christ Episcopal Church, read the
impressive burial service of that church, during which he threw a small
quantity of dirt into each grave, repeating the words "dust to dust, ashes
to ashes, earth to earth." In one of the graves the remains of two persons
were buried. After the conclusion of the obsequies the flowers not already
placed upon the graves were distributed, the band in the meantime playing a
dirge. The lots containing the Confederate dead have been inclosed with a
substantial granite curbing, and the graves put in good condition. The remains
of 247 persons are buried in the inclosure, most of whom are known."
On June 8, 1877, the Confederate Memorial Day
article reads:
"The bands played dirges as the procession
marched in column of fours, from the gate to the Confederate cemetery, and
after passing around it formed a hollow square, inclosing the western portion,
where the remains of privates Wm. Norfolk and Wm. Rinehart were to be interred.
The deceased had been members of company C, First Maryland Infantry, and the
remains brought to this city by the society some months ago and placed in a
vault in Loudon Park Cemetery. Graves had been dug about thirty paces west of
the Confederate monument, and the remains, inclosed in wooden boxes, deposited
in them. The burial service of the Protestant Episcopal Church was read by Rev.
Mr. Peterkin, assisted by Rev. T. Lewis Banister, after which the bones were
consigned to a resting place among comrades. After the graves had been filled
the gray clods were hidden by flowers, some of the choicest having been
reserved for that purpose."
In 1884, Mrs. Gustavus Brown carried a banner
to Confederate Hill while leading a group of young girls to the
ceremony there. She left the banner at the base of the Jackson statue, which
had a Confederate flag made of roses in its hand and a crown of roses and
honeysuckles upon its head. The banner read:
"We
keep memorial day in order that
the dust of time may not blind the eyes of our children
to the blaze of glory that arises
from the grave of every Confederate soldier."