Confederate Grave Restored
By Vicki Fleming, Murfreesboro Ch. #91,
Murfreesboro, TN
This article also appeared in the Middle Tennessee
Times serving DeKalb County
And the August 2002 issue of the United Daughters of
the Confederacy magazine
Each time I visit a cemetery, it
brings a measure of sadness a measure of respect. I think of loved ones that have died and what they may have gone
through in life. Were they born during
the Depression? Did they die during
infancy? Did they fight in a war?
These
are the easy ones. These people have a headstone with names, places and dates.
Some headstones have special inscriptions. These are the lucky ones. It means someone remembered, and someone
cared about who they were. Each grave,
each person buried has a story to tell.
Other
graves have no stories to tell. These
are the forgotten graves, the ones with no tombstones, and the ones with no
special inscriptions. Nothing to remind
us who this person was or what they did in life. They are forgotten souls.
The
sadness comes to me especially when the person buried is a veteran because I am
a veteran. I was willing to die for the
sake of my country as were my father before me and other ancestors before him. I respect the veterans that have given the
last full measure of their life, and I respect the veterans that gave of their
time, their willingness to fight for the betterment of others.
I
say it’s sad because many times these graves are forgotten, the cemeteries
neglected. I say it is sad because no
one seems to remember or care about these neglected souls. In National Cemeteries or larger, more
public cemeteries, the grounds are cared for.
Ceremonies are held and loved ones remembered with flowers and maybe a
flag. It is a place of quiet repose.
Two
months ago, the sadness came again, but unlike other times this occasion had a
better ending. As a member of the
Gravemarkers Committee of the Tennessee Division of the United Daughters of the
Confederacy, I was called upon to locate and determine the condition of the
grave of S.R. Corum of Smith County, Tennessee.
Mr.
Talley Bailey, a descendant of S.R. Corum, had viewed some pictures on the
Internet of Polly Hill Cemetery in Smith County. It was a small cemetery located on the knoll of a hill in a
pasture on a privately owned farm.
Could we possibly locate the grave and restore it in order to honor his
ancestor? Currently residing in Ft. Dix, New Jersey, he could not attend to the
matter himself.
Mr.
Bailey’s family tree is replete with ancestors from those that fought at Valley
Forge with Washington, through the American Revolution, the War Between the
States and World War II. All he asked
was could we locate this grave? Could
we help him remember and honor one of his ancestors?
I
agreed to take on the task. I contacted
Mr. John C. Waggoner, Jr., the gentleman who had taken the pictures of Polly
Hill Cemetery (and many others in Smith County). Mr. Waggoner is a member of the Robert L. Hatton Camp of the Sons
of Confederate Veterans. After several
emails we agreed to meet and to visit this lonely isolated cemetery. Retta Waggoner, John’s wife joined us to
work on this task.
Because
the cemetery is shared with any number of cows (and one mean bull), we had speculated
the cows were responsible for many headstones being knocked over and in some
cases broken, and so it was. Where was
the Corum grave? Thanks to the
Historical Society in Smith County, someone years ago had made a listing of
each grave, person by person, row by row.
The documentation provided by the Historical Society was invaluable.
We
located the upright headstone of the wife of S.R. Corum. Where was his grave?
There was a headstone buried beneath the dirt next to the wife’s grave. Mr. Waggoner had determined this with the
aid of a special tool. Could this be
his grave? At this point all that was
showing was a portion of the pedestal (the base of the headstone). Great care should be taken unearthing a
headstone. Older headstones are easily
damaged (bovine or human causes). We
dug a little with a shovel. We dug more
with our bare hands.
The
special moment had come. We had
uncovered the face of the headstone. The marker was intact and in good
condition. We were elated, if only for
a while. A break for lunch and two
hours later we placed the stone upright.
It weighed between 200 – 300 pounds.
Retta Waggoner and I cleaned the marker.
It
was sad at this cemetery, but I have seen worse. Many of the stones are knocked over. Some of are broken and some, like the grave of S.R. Corum, have
lain buried beneath the soil for many years.
It was worth the sweat, the toil, the poison ivy, the sore muscles and
the mean bull. Mr. Bailey is pleased
that we were able to restore his ancestor’s grave and give honor to one of his
family.
S.R.
Corum had enlisted on the 22nd of July 1861 with Murray’s Cavalry
and later served with Baxter-Smith’s Cavalry, Company C. During an engagement near Red Boiling
Springs, his unit was making a charge.
During the charge, Pvt. Corum’s horse fell on him, breaking his leg,
rupturing a vein and causing other serious injuries. After a period of recovery and having been honorably discharged,
he continued to help the South by doing blacksmith work in Smith County. While taking clothing to the army at the
Battle of Murfreesboro, he was captured and released on oath. He lived his remaining years in Smith County
and died on March 12, 1916.
I
was glad of this work that day. I would
do it again to help someone. Too often
we can’t make the time to remember those that have gone before us. We can’t find the time to check on that
small cemetery up that dirt road. It is
sad to forget these neglected places and those neglected souls. In time, it will be my turn to join those
that sleep in the dust. I hope someone
will remember me.
For
information on registering a Confederate grave or to ask a question on how you
can honor your Confederate ancestor, contact your Division Gravemarkers
Committee.
Note From the webhost:
Vicki
Fleming is
a member of the “United Daughters Of The Confederacy” Murfreesboro Ch. #91,
Murfreesboro, TN. and serves on the Tennessee Division Gravemarkers
Committee. Vicki is also invovled in a similar cemeteries picture project like ours in
Smith County.
Go To
Cemeteries Surveys by Nikki and Rose!
Go
To United Daughters Of The Confederacy Website
Sons of Confederate Veterans
Savage/Goodner Camp #1513
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Hill Cemetery Pictures
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Pictures Index