8 thoughts on “Unknown Confederate Soldier, Dixie”
Jim Graham
My ‘ Dixie , Ga. born ‘ mother shared with me the story of the ‘ poor Confederate soldier ‘ who ‘ got off the train and died under the ‘ big live oak tree ‘ next to this gravesite . Her shared story was that of ‘ hand-me-down ‘ telling , ‘ I suppose more-or-less ‘ true , from preceding generations who were ‘ closer to the facts ‘ than she . The story she told me when we visited old ‘ Dixie cemetery ‘ many , many years ago , we lived and farmed in the ‘ Barney ‘ community of Brooks County at this time , was that the ‘ Confederate soldier ‘ just ‘ got off the train and died ‘ ‘. The kind folks in ‘ Dixie ‘ hadn’t a ‘ clue ‘ as to his identity and out of pity for a man ‘ who fought for them ‘ buried him and built a very nice for that day ‘ brick cover slab ‘ , see photograph , over his remains . So was the ‘ story line ‘ of the untimely death of a Southern soldier as was shared with me .
Fast forward to the ‘ 1980’s ‘ . I was a member of our newly formed ‘ Sons of Confederate Veterans ‘ camp in Quitman and suggested that , based on the ‘ story ‘ of local interest , we restore the ‘ unknown soldier’s grave ‘ , which was at that time in a very deplorable condition , in the ‘ Dixie cemetery ‘ as we had a few camp members who were from the ‘ Dixie ‘ community . I and a brick mason I retained for the project worked for two days on the grave restoration site . With funds from our meager ‘ SCV camp ‘ treasury , and with solicited private donations , we purchased the modest ‘ head stone – known only to God ‘ pictured @ this gravesite . We also sponsored a formal ‘ headstone dedication service ‘ complete with a Confederate ‘ re-enactor ‘ musket salute . I was the keynote speaker @ the service which was well attended by the local community . Even as a kid , this story obviously ‘ touched my heart ‘ and it was ever personally gratifying to me to ‘ bring closure ‘ as in honoring a Southern soldier truly ‘ known but to God ‘ .
As in yet another ‘ irony of confirmation ‘ to the ‘ demise of a Confederate soldier ‘ @ this location , I knew a man who was into ‘ metal detecting ‘ and he shared w / our ‘ SCV ‘ camp in Moultrie , Ga. the following ‘ hunting artifacts ‘ story . After hearing the ‘ Dixie Confederate soldier ‘ story , he ‘ went down to ‘ Dixie ‘ and ‘ metal detected ‘ about the ancient , huge ‘ live oak tree ‘ where he shared with us a ‘ few ‘ artifacts ‘ ‘ he had unearthed . There were two soft lead ‘ Minnie balls ‘ which appeared to be of ‘ .577 / .58 caliber ‘ which were the ‘ standard round ‘ ( bullet projectiles ) for black powder military muskets of that war era . He also had in his possession two metallic ‘ buttons ‘ with a ‘ greenish patina ‘ from age and earth burial one of which seemed to display the ‘ raised ‘ I ‘ possibly of a Confederate ‘ infantry ‘ uniform origin . There were other non-identifiable ‘ metal objects ‘ from the same ‘ under the ‘ big oak ‘ ‘ location . Were any of these ‘ vintage ‘ items at one time the property of the deceased ‘ unknown Confederate soldier ‘ ??????? Don’t know ….. but if not the ‘ discoveries ‘ are a mute reminder that there was perhaps a ‘ Confederate presence ‘ at one time ‘ close by ‘ the now ancient , stately ‘ Spanish moss festooned ‘ live oak tree next to our unknown soldier’s grave .
The above referenced ‘ unknown Confederate soldier headstone dedication ‘ event has been recorded for posterity in several historical publications for ‘ Brooks County ‘ . I was always saddened to hear this story from my mother who was a ‘ third generation ‘ Dixie girl ‘ ‘ when she shared it with me . I think that this Southern soldier had a family ‘ somewhere ‘ who ‘ never knew ‘ the final ‘ fate ‘ or ‘ resting place ‘ of their loved one at the close of this tumultuous time in our Southern history . For the grieving family , he was ‘ never heard from again ‘ / ‘ never knew what happened to him ‘ with their worst fears being that of fact ending at a small train depot in ‘ ‘1865 ‘ Dixie Georgia ‘. The confirmation of this ancient soldier’s identity and subsequent contact with his ‘ next-of-kin ‘ will never be known nor can it ever be .
Suffice it to say that from the ‘ hands of caring strangers ‘ in a small , obscure Southern community the ‘ unknown soldier ‘ and in turn his ‘ unknown family ‘ would be accorded the kindness of a Christian burial for their loved one perhaps so far from ‘ home ‘ . I was humbled and gratified to have had a small part in bringing remembrance , honor and closure of a kind to this sad story of a Southern patriot that will be lost to time ……. ‘ …. Lest We Forget ‘ …….. .
No. I tried to ask more questions and look into it with all dead ends. Dixie didn’t have a paper but the only other avenues is the care taker of the cemetery or the little church across the street. They may have something.
I would like to know if anyone knows what the dates are he was found. Are some were around the date. I’m looking for my g-grandfather grave and can’t find it.I think he was trying to get to Thomas Co . were he live, before the war. He was wounded in civil war and was sent home.
As far as I know no. I’m sorry. There is no dates. There was a train depot in Dixie during this time. Again, what oral history is told is that he was wounded & walked to this oak tree & sat down & passed away. There are a number of Confederate soldiers buried in this small cemetery. I wish you the best at finding your GGgrandfather.
My family has lived in the ole Ward house on the corner (which is connected to this graveyard) since 71-72. I have been all over the grounds since I was 6 yrs old. I knew that this was an unknown Confederate Soldier for years. The story I was told was that this young man had been wounded from a battle, staggered into the graveyard and sat down next to the big oak tree just a few feet from his grave, and was found dead there. He was buried right next to where he had passed only known to God. Now, knowing that this was or has been passed down by word of mouth for over 150+ years, I can’t say it’s the truth. However, the story hasn’t changed from those who have now passed that I once knew. It is a stark reminder that there are also Civil War Battle sites around that also need to be remembered.
My ‘ Dixie , Ga. born ‘ mother shared with me the story of the ‘ poor Confederate soldier ‘ who ‘ got off the train and died under the ‘ big live oak tree ‘ next to this gravesite . Her shared story was that of ‘ hand-me-down ‘ telling , ‘ I suppose more-or-less ‘ true , from preceding generations who were ‘ closer to the facts ‘ than she . The story she told me when we visited old ‘ Dixie cemetery ‘ many , many years ago , we lived and farmed in the ‘ Barney ‘ community of Brooks County at this time , was that the ‘ Confederate soldier ‘ just ‘ got off the train and died ‘ ‘. The kind folks in ‘ Dixie ‘ hadn’t a ‘ clue ‘ as to his identity and out of pity for a man ‘ who fought for them ‘ buried him and built a very nice for that day ‘ brick cover slab ‘ , see photograph , over his remains . So was the ‘ story line ‘ of the untimely death of a Southern soldier as was shared with me .
Fast forward to the ‘ 1980’s ‘ . I was a member of our newly formed ‘ Sons of Confederate Veterans ‘ camp in Quitman and suggested that , based on the ‘ story ‘ of local interest , we restore the ‘ unknown soldier’s grave ‘ , which was at that time in a very deplorable condition , in the ‘ Dixie cemetery ‘ as we had a few camp members who were from the ‘ Dixie ‘ community . I and a brick mason I retained for the project worked for two days on the grave restoration site . With funds from our meager ‘ SCV camp ‘ treasury , and with solicited private donations , we purchased the modest ‘ head stone – known only to God ‘ pictured @ this gravesite . We also sponsored a formal ‘ headstone dedication service ‘ complete with a Confederate ‘ re-enactor ‘ musket salute . I was the keynote speaker @ the service which was well attended by the local community . Even as a kid , this story obviously ‘ touched my heart ‘ and it was ever personally gratifying to me to ‘ bring closure ‘ as in honoring a Southern soldier truly ‘ known but to God ‘ .
As in yet another ‘ irony of confirmation ‘ to the ‘ demise of a Confederate soldier ‘ @ this location , I knew a man who was into ‘ metal detecting ‘ and he shared w / our ‘ SCV ‘ camp in Moultrie , Ga. the following ‘ hunting artifacts ‘ story . After hearing the ‘ Dixie Confederate soldier ‘ story , he ‘ went down to ‘ Dixie ‘ and ‘ metal detected ‘ about the ancient , huge ‘ live oak tree ‘ where he shared with us a ‘ few ‘ artifacts ‘ ‘ he had unearthed . There were two soft lead ‘ Minnie balls ‘ which appeared to be of ‘ .577 / .58 caliber ‘ which were the ‘ standard round ‘ ( bullet projectiles ) for black powder military muskets of that war era . He also had in his possession two metallic ‘ buttons ‘ with a ‘ greenish patina ‘ from age and earth burial one of which seemed to display the ‘ raised ‘ I ‘ possibly of a Confederate ‘ infantry ‘ uniform origin . There were other non-identifiable ‘ metal objects ‘ from the same ‘ under the ‘ big oak ‘ ‘ location . Were any of these ‘ vintage ‘ items at one time the property of the deceased ‘ unknown Confederate soldier ‘ ??????? Don’t know ….. but if not the ‘ discoveries ‘ are a mute reminder that there was perhaps a ‘ Confederate presence ‘ at one time ‘ close by ‘ the now ancient , stately ‘ Spanish moss festooned ‘ live oak tree next to our unknown soldier’s grave .
The above referenced ‘ unknown Confederate soldier headstone dedication ‘ event has been recorded for posterity in several historical publications for ‘ Brooks County ‘ . I was always saddened to hear this story from my mother who was a ‘ third generation ‘ Dixie girl ‘ ‘ when she shared it with me . I think that this Southern soldier had a family ‘ somewhere ‘ who ‘ never knew ‘ the final ‘ fate ‘ or ‘ resting place ‘ of their loved one at the close of this tumultuous time in our Southern history . For the grieving family , he was ‘ never heard from again ‘ / ‘ never knew what happened to him ‘ with their worst fears being that of fact ending at a small train depot in ‘ ‘1865 ‘ Dixie Georgia ‘. The confirmation of this ancient soldier’s identity and subsequent contact with his ‘ next-of-kin ‘ will never be known nor can it ever be .
Suffice it to say that from the ‘ hands of caring strangers ‘ in a small , obscure Southern community the ‘ unknown soldier ‘ and in turn his ‘ unknown family ‘ would be accorded the kindness of a Christian burial for their loved one perhaps so far from ‘ home ‘ . I was humbled and gratified to have had a small part in bringing remembrance , honor and closure of a kind to this sad story of a Southern patriot that will be lost to time ……. ‘ …. Lest We Forget ‘ …….. .
Jim Graham
Was there a news paper in Dixie at this time. Maybe I can find more there. Thanks Jerry
Would you know the date of when he got off the train, or when he was buried.
No. I tried to ask more questions and look into it with all dead ends. Dixie didn’t have a paper but the only other avenues is the care taker of the cemetery or the little church across the street. They may have something.
I would like to know if anyone knows what the dates are he was found. Are some were around the date. I’m looking for my g-grandfather grave and can’t find it.I think he was trying to get to Thomas Co . were he live, before the war. He was wounded in civil war and was sent home.
As far as I know no. I’m sorry. There is no dates. There was a train depot in Dixie during this time. Again, what oral history is told is that he was wounded & walked to this oak tree & sat down & passed away. There are a number of Confederate soldiers buried in this small cemetery. I wish you the best at finding your GGgrandfather.
My family has lived in the ole Ward house on the corner (which is connected to this graveyard) since 71-72. I have been all over the grounds since I was 6 yrs old. I knew that this was an unknown Confederate Soldier for years. The story I was told was that this young man had been wounded from a battle, staggered into the graveyard and sat down next to the big oak tree just a few feet from his grave, and was found dead there. He was buried right next to where he had passed only known to God. Now, knowing that this was or has been passed down by word of mouth for over 150+ years, I can’t say it’s the truth. However, the story hasn’t changed from those who have now passed that I once knew. It is a stark reminder that there are also Civil War Battle sites around that also need to be remembered.
this is a good picture. i bet you guys want to know who this guy is and was