Book Review--The McGavock Confederate Cemetery

Jacobson, Eric A. The McGavock Confederate Cemetery: "A Revised and Updated Compilation". Self Published, 2007. 168 pages, index, bibliography, color and b/w photos. No ISBN.

In late November 1864 a vicious five hour battle took place in Franklin, TN. In these short hours nearly 10,000 soldiers were killed (including six Confederate generals), wounded, or missing, making the Battle of Franklin one of the Civil Wars most bloody battles and a further blow to the Confederacy.

Eric A. Jacobsen has written a short but informative book dealing with the carnage left on the battlefield and the people who helped bury the dead with the dignity they deserved. On December 1, 1864 burial details were sent to the field to bury the dead and bring the wounded to care. In total around 1,750 Confederates were buried in makeshift plots, many only a couple of feet deep. Most burials were arranged by state and when details were known they were carved into boards and placed at the head of the burial. By the fall of 1865 any Union dead had been removed with the majority being buried at Stones River National Cemetery.

With the war over a need to return to normalcy came over the country. For those in the Franklin area this was difficult with Confederate dead being buried in yards and farmlands. Enter John and Carrie McGavock.

John McGavock*

John and Carrie became the driving force in establishing a cemetery for the Confederate dead, even going so far as to donate two acres of land next to their own family cemetery. A burial association was formed to help raise the needed funds to find and rebury the soldiers. Funds were requested from each state with men who would be reburied. Money was also raised privately with many soldiers donating to the cause. Through a bidding process George Cupett was awarded the contract to find, exhume, and rebury the bodies of dead soldiers. For this he was to be paid $5 per body. As bodies were found records were made so they could be marked at reburial, the body placed in an oak coffin, and reburied in the new cemetery.

Once burials were completed the cemetery fell to the McGavocks to maintain. Each faithfully upheld this service until their deaths. John dying in 1893 and Carrie in 1905. Around 1925 responsibility for the cemetery was taken over by the Franklin Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Carrie McGavock*

Jacobson has the book broken into two parts. The first which is briefly told above runs a mere 30 pages or so. The remainder is a listing of the dead buried at McGavock Confederate Cemetery.

The cemetery is broken into 103 sections and here Jacobson outlines what is known about each burial. Where known he provides name, rank, regiment, company and brigade. Notes are provided for burials where there may be further information.

Jacobson has written a short but interesting, and in some senses vital, book for anybody interested in the Battle of Franklin or for those who are doing genealogical work and find they have a relative who fought and perhaps died there. He has used primary sources including the heavily relied upon original McGavock Cemetery Book (which itself has a unique story that Jacobson passes along to readers). Newspapers and original soldier letters, one of which proves to be an excellent example outlining a "good death"** are also used, along with a selection of secondary sources.

If you are interested in this book I would recommend purchasing through the Battle of Franklin Trust website.

*Photos of John and Carrie McGavock are used from the Battle of Franklin Trust, Carton Plantation, Images website.

**For further information on "good death" I highly recommend Drew Gilpen Faust's book This Repulic of Suffering. Please see my review here.

Book Review--On Hallowed Ground

Poole, Robert M. On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery. Walker Publishing Co., New York, NY. 352 pages, 274 pages text, index, notes, b/w photos, map. ISBN 9780802715487 or 9780802715494, $28.00 or $17.00.

The story of Arlington National Cemetery is one that can be told from many vantage points. Everybody would have their own favorite monument or story or agenda. Robert Poole has done an excellent job of covering this monumental task. The cemetery story is monumental both in size and scope and also in it's symbolic nature and importance to the United States.

No history of Arlington can be told without the story of the Lee family. Poole spends a large amount of time covering the Lee (or Custis family if you prefer) history in regards to the land. Robert E. Lee's fateful decision to join the Confederacy and the repercussions carried out by a vengeful Montgomery Meigs are thoroughly covered as is the attempt of Custis Lee to regain title to the property. After the government gains clear title through a $150,000 payment to Custis Lee ownership was never again in doubt. With this, efforts began to remove the freedmen who had taken up residence on the property during and after the Civil War. What was at the time a small cemetery would grow to take on a much larger place in history.

As further wars such as the Spanish-American War and World War I took place the importance of finding, identifying, and burying the dead continued to be a prime goal. Through time better science, more research, and the simple use of dog tags helped in identifying American dead even long after the death took place. Despite advances though some wars produced remains that could never be identified. On February 24, 1921 burial of a World War I Unknown Soldier was authorized at Arlington National Cemetery. Further burials from Korea and World War II were enshrined at later dates.  Unfortunately political ambition has crept into the history of the Unknown Soldier and the Reagan administration made a critical error in hurriedly burying remains from a Vietnam soldier. The remains were later removed and proven to belong to Lt. Michael Blassie. Poole puts forth that with the advances made in science it is possible that no further burials will take place at the Tomb of the Unknowns.

While the famous are what many people go to Arlington for, Poole credits the burial of President John F. Kennedy with causing both an increase in visitors and burials, the common soldier makes up Arlington National Cemetery. From Richard McKinley, a casualty of the nations first nuclear accident, to cemetery foreman Darrell Stafford, to PFC Alton W. "Knappie" Knappenberger, who singlehandedly slowed a German attack during World War II thus earning the Medal of Honor, to dozens of dead from the Pentagon attack on 9/11 Poole adeptly tells their stories. These stories are moving and heartfelt.

My only real issue with the book is I would have liked a better map. There is a two page map of the cemetery located at the front of the book however I found it woefully inadequate to refer to. It is broken up over the pages and also is generally hard to read. A nice foldout map would be a great addition to this book. Publishing costs however have to be taken into account and this might just not have been in the budget. For those looking for a photo history of Arlington you should look elsewhere. This is not that kind of book If however, you are interested in a good read about one of our nation's most famous locations this is your book!

Is this book the definitive word on Arlington? No. Was it written to be that? No. It is however an excellent work. Whether you are taking a trip to the Washington D.C. area and would like some knowledge about Arlington before visiting or if you are already a student of this remarkable monument Poole has written a book you should have on your shelves.

Repairs at Arlington National Cemetery

I found this news article on the Arlington National Cemetery website to be very interesting. Sure it doesn't go into a huge amount of detail but it shows the care that is put into this cemetery and particularly the Tomb of the Unknowns. the delicate repair work being done is incredible. Looks like every 20-30 years these types of repairs will need to be made. Hopefully the problem won't become worse over time. Here is the official web page for the Tomb of the Unknowns on the Arlington site.

If you haven't had the chance to go to Arlington it really is one of those places every American should have the chance to see. I was lucky enough to be able to visit a couple of years ago while on my honeymoon and I would love to go back. It can easily turn into a full day event if you aren't careful. In the mean time the book linked below is a wonderful photo book for anyone interested in the cemetery. There are several other nice books out there as well.

President makes right choice

I believe President Barack Obama has made the right choice in continuing the tradition to lay flowers at the Confederate Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery. Rather than bow to pressure from those who want to be seen as politically correct he has had aides lay a wreath in honor of Confederate veterans. In addition he has made a wise decision and will also have a wreath laid at the African American Civil War Memorial located in Washington D.C. A more full report on President Obama's Memorial Day activites can be read here.

To those who have served, are serving, or have family serving in the military the United States says "Thank you!"