Local SCV Volunteers Clean Up Old Cemetery

On Saturday, September 19th, I had the honor to take part in a group effort to help locate and clean the graves from an overgrown cemetery plot in eastern Chester County, South Carolina. Over 30 graves - including six Confederate soldiers - in a small plot were rediscovered by nearby landowners after being "lost" for over sixty years. Some of these graves went back almost 200 years.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans learned of these graves and contacted the landowner to volunteer to clear the cemetery plot. Volunteers from the Walker-Gaston Camp #86 from Chester, SC and the Brigadier General Micah Jenkins Camp #1569 Sons of Confederate Veterans from Rock Hill, SC took part in the clean up - including several lineal descendants of a couple of the Confederate soldiers buried in the rediscovered plot. 

The graves were surrounded by trees and debris, several of them were broken off and mostly buried. It took less than two hours of work but we managed to clear the two acre area around the cemetery and dig up the half-buried headstones. The six Confederate soldiers graves were marked with Dixie Cross battle flags. 

The following photos tell the story and show the progress of our work.

This is the reason that I became a member of the SCV in the first place. This is where Confederate historical heritage truly begins: with the graves of the soldiers themselves, and those of the families they fought for. I was honored to be here with these men and women working to help begin the process of restoring this grave site. 

My thanks to my fellow Southern compatriots and Confederate descendants: Donny Rayborn, Jimmy Owens, Alex Wallen, Gerald Goins, Chip Adams, Bucky Sutton, Buddy Freeman, Carl Blackston, Donna Blackston, Cam Ferguson, Jame Freeman, Daniel Jordan, Andrew McCoy, Jack Morton...and a special thanks to Jeb the dog who helped keep the Copperheads and Cottonmouth Moccasins away.

Well done compatriots! 

Deo Vindice!