In our clan, Saturdays, especially those on picture-perfect late spring days in June are rarely spent following along with a docent for two hours in a cemetery. But this is precisely what we did today. Our Sons of Confederate Veterans camp (Battle of Sharpsburg Camp #1582) arranged for a tour of the Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Frederick Maryland. This sacred soil is home to such luminaries as Governor Thomas Johnson Jr. (1732-1819) and Francis Scott Key (1779-1843). But of particular interest to us, over 400 Confederate dead, many unknown, from all points south. Confederate Row is especially moving, as is the monument to the Confederate dead from battles as diverse as South Mountain, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg and Monocacy. During this conflict, our part of western Maryland served as one big field hospital. So naturally many Southern Sons found this to be their final resting place.
It is comforting to see that our historical iconography remains intact here, and we are especially indebted to Chris Haugh, our guide for the day. Please check out his blog; Stories in Stone.
While we are on the topic of historical blogs, Richard Williams has updated his web presence. Besides coining the best term I've seen to date that describes the revisionist nitwits that so infect our historical souls, what he refers to as "the perpetually puckered moral reformer class", his Relics and Bones blog and web site by the same name are first rate.
R. Dwayne Lunsford, PhD
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