Cannonball

Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery contains the graves of more than 18,000 former Confederate soldiers from the Civil War (and a handful of former Yankees). Most were post-war veterans, although a significant number were battlefield or hospital victims who perished during the War Between the States, including a large section of Gettysburg dead disinterred in Pennsylvania in the early 1870s and transported to Richmond. Confederate President Jefferson Davis is also buried in Hollywood Cemetery.
Located at 412 Cherry Street not far from I-95 and other major highways, Hollywood Cemetery is a popular destination for tourists and walkers. Characterized by rolling hills, scenic plantings, and winding paths, it is typical of the “garden cemeteries” of the 19th century.
Among the highlights is the Confederate section.

Interments of dead Confederate soldiers began early in the war. Several memorials remember their service.

One small section near the entrance is set aside for the remains of Rebel officers. A handful of the 25 generals buried in Hollywood Cemetery are in this section, including Allegheny Ed Johnson, who commanded a division at Gettysburg.

At Gettysburg, Edward Johnson’s men repeatedly attacked Culp’s Hill without succeeding in driving off the Yankee defenders. Union troops captured Johnson and most of his division at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House on May 12, 1864. He was held captive for months at Morris Island, off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, and was exchanged on August 3, 1864. Sent west to Tennessee, he was again captured at Nashville and sent this time to Johnson’s island in Lake Erie. Accused falsely of playing a role in the plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln, Johnson was moved to Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C. before finally being released after the war. He retired to a farm in Virginia.

David Rumph Jones commanded a Confederate division at the Battle of Antietam in September 1862, where his division held the right flank of the Army of Northern Virginia when the Federal IX Corps attacked.The West Point graduate had served in the Mexican War in the U.S. Army, like so many of his future Rebel brethren. At Antietam, his health failed, and he died of a heart ailment in Richmond early in 1863. His division was assigned to the command of George Pickett, who is also buried in Hollywood Cemetery along with hundreds of men who served under Jones and Pickett.

This memorial honors the women of the Confederacy. So many females played important roles during the war, from such mundane but vital work in supporting the troops to the danger and glamor of spying for the intelligence service.
To read the rest of this series on Confederate graves at Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6