CSA Soldiers Rest

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Scenes In and Around Soldiers' Rest
C. S. A. Cemetery, Vicksburg, Mississippi
Confederate Avenue, within Cedar Hill Cemetery
 

The plaque on the base of the flagpole at Soldiers' Rest.

"In honor of Roswell Nathaniel Atwell CSA
and Sue Atwell Clark
by Jackie and Logan Fleming, UDC Chapter #77 Vicksburg 1985"
 


 
"During the roar and thunder of the War Between the States it was time to tend the wounded and the dead. The Sisters of Mercy of Vicksburg put their teaching careers on hold and volunteered their services. These heroines of the war have seen little recognition for their contribution and sacrifices so now we wish to honor their memory."
     Vicksburg #77, UDC
 

The two above photos are a portion of the section where some men of the 43rd Miss. Inf. are buried. This is located immediately down the hill from the main section of Soldiers' Rest.

Photographs of these markers of the men of the 43rd are included with the Men of Mississippi of Soldiers Rest. Douglas  the Camel (see below) was associated with the 43rd and is buried with them.
The story of Douglas the camel is told on the front and back of his marker.
 
The use of camels in the country's westward expansion and now during the war to aid militarily was being tested and Douglas was only one of hundreds. The descendants of these camels are still roaming the West. Forrest Bryant Johnson has written about the history of this project and the people --  including foreign camel handlers -- who worked to make it successful.


 Photo by Doug Baum

Above, Douglas and some members of his unit.

 

Douglas carried equipment for the 43th Miss. Volunteer Inf. Regt. and gave them their name of the Camel Regiment. He served proudly in the Iuka, Corinth, Central Mississippi Railroad, and Vicksburg Campaigns.

Camels were brought from the Middle East in the 1840s to form a cavalry mount for the U.S. Army in the American southwest. Camels helped greatly with transportation and expansion into the new and often hostile territories. They could reach speeds of up to 40 mph, travel days without water, carry heavier loads than mules, and, in the end, push wagon trails westward to expand the nation.

The last of these camels died in 1934, but their descendants are still roaming the southwest.

Suggested reading, The Last Camel Charge: The Untold Story of America's Desert Military Experiment by Forrest Bryant Johnson, Berkley Caliber, New York, 2012

"Dedicated to the memory of the officer who gave their lives in defense of Vicksburg. Erected by the
Lt. G. J.C. Pemberton Camp 1354
Sons of Confederate Veterans"
 
"Dedicated to the memory of the men who gave their lives in defense of Vicksburg. Erected by the
Lt. G. J.C. Pemberton Camp 1354
Sons of Confederate Veterans"

A view from the northwest corner of Soldiers' Rest.


Photo by Wayne McMaster
Painting the flagpole at Soldiers' Rest.
How often does it occur to us that flagpoles
need painting? The Mississippi section is to
the viewer's left, the Louisiana section is to
the view's right.
Opposing winds catch the flags
flying over Soldiers' Rest.

 


Wayne McMaster (at right), SCV,
with Vicksburg visitor Antonio Parillo,
a history teacher from Sweden
who spent the morning at Soldiers' Rest.
The teacher learned a little more about the
South than he had planned, as it was 100+ degrees
that day (plus the humidity), a little warmer
than a summer day in Sweden!

Photo by Eddy Cresap
In Sep - Oct 2015, brickwork was repaired
at the base of the Monument to the Confederate Dead,
which is 122 years old.

(See at right.)
Photo by Bryan Skipworth
Gen. Stephen Dill Lee spoke
at the first dedication in 1893.
 

 

The Volunteer Southrons are shown in 1893, taken at Soldiers Rest. To the left, behind the band, note the two rows of grave markers of soldiers lost in the war. Family and friends of the soldiers probably installed them right after the war. (This small grouping is referred to herein as the "Louisiana grouping.")

Band members. from the left, are Albert Auter, Kirk Bond, Frank J. Groome, John Piazza, George Kelly Smith, Abe Katzenmeyer, Willie Katzenmeyer, Felix Mahen, John Burnhardt, Vic O'Connor, Vick Fisher, Director Fred A. Moser, Dennis Hossley, John B. Katzenmeyer, Tip Brunnar, and Lee Spengler.

The Soldiers Rest monument was first dedicated in 1893, and this may be the occasion of their gathering.

Caption from Vicksburg and Warren County, A Pictorial History, pg. 93, published by The Vicksburg Evening Post 2010. Photo Courtesy of the Old Court House Museum, Vicksburg.
 

 


Photo by Bryan Skipworth
 
This photo was taken at about the same spot as the above band photo. Note the smaller markers at left, the "Louisiana grouping." The brick wall at the base of the tree once surrounded a family lot. The wall is tumbled down now, but in the band photo above it appears whole.
 

 
Marker Repair is an Ongoing Task

Photos by Wayne McMaster and Bryan Skipworth
 

 

There is always work to be done at Soldiers Rest.

Here, Bryan Skipworth and Wayne McMaster repair a broken marker.

Both men are members of the Lt. G. J.C. Pemberton Camp 1354, Sons of Confederate Veterans.
 

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