Near Susquehanna, another tomb of unknown soldier
York County’s unknown Union soldier rests in Prospect Hill Cemetery.
But his gray counterpart lies in a remote spote near the Susquehanna River. At least that’s the story.
Here’s what I wrote in “East of Gettysburg” about the rebel soldier buried on the York County side of the Susquehanna, in the Accomac area:
Area residents have long maintained the grave site, where tradition holds that a rebel soldier was laid to rest. The tradition persists even though the site has been marked with Stars and Stripes and a Union marker.
The stories vary, but a common version tells of three soldiers detached from Gen. John B. Gordon’s rebel brigade (see note among the roses), who tried to cross the river on a raft. Perhaps the soldiers were testing the river’s depth to find a ford where the brigade could cross.
The raft struck a rock, and one of the soldiers, who couldn’t swim, drowned. His comrades dragged his body ashore and buried him, the resting place of a lonely soldier.
