Couple at UDC monument dedication

Friday, November 06, 2009 3:00 AM  |  Printer friendly version | E-mail to a friend | The N.C. Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy dedicated a new 8- by 10-foot granite monument in Weldon Oct 11.

Ed and Sue Curtis of Salisbury participated in the dedication service.

During the Civil War, Weldon was located near four railroads: the Wilmington & Weldon, the Raleigh & Gaston, the Seaboard & Roanoke and the Petersburg.

Thousands of Confederate troops and supplies passed through its area.

Soldiers taken sick from the trains or from nearby camps were cared for in the homes in Weldon and in the local Methodist chapel that became a government hospital.

Those who died were taken to an area near the 1860 breastworks and buried in unmarked graves that became known as the "Soldiers Burying Grounds."

The newly erected marker contains the names of 165 soldiers from 10 states of the Confederacy.

A list of these can be obtained from the October 2009 issue of the UDC Magazine in the history room of the Rowan Public Library or the North Carolina UDC website at www.ncudc.org.

The Curtises took flags from North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas to display on the Robert F. Hoke Chapter No. 78 9-foot-high flagpoles which were placed on each end of the monument.

Wreaths were placed by many historical groups including the Hoke UDC Chapter and the Salisbury Confederate Prison Association, Inc.

Among the names on this new marker are those with a Salisbury connection.

"Corp. Eli W. Shirley, Capt. Freeman's Co. Al. Prison Guards, Salisbury, N.C. Guards" is one such soldier of interest.

Freeman's Company was organized in Tuscaloosa, Ala., in August 1862 as Freeman's Co. B, Confederate States Prison Guards.

The company was ordered to report for duty at Salisbury after the federal prisoners they were guarding were removed from Tuscaloosa. At the Salisbury prison, the company became Co. A, Prison Guard Battalion.

Those who died while on duty in Salisbury have tombstones at the Old Lutheran Cemetery placed in 1996 by the Robert F. Hoke No. 78, UDC.

Thirteen soldiers from Rowan, Stanly, Davidson, Davie and Iredell counties have been identified as possibly serving as Salisbury Confederate Prison guards while in a camp of instruction, Camp Fisher, at Crawford's farm south of Salisbury.

Jesse H. Albright, James Brooks, Alfred W. Crisco, John D. Floyd, John Ellis Graves, Herald Hinson, Peter W.M. Potts, James W. Phifer, John Peterson, John Seamon, Jacob M. White, Adam Whitley and John Williams served in the 42nd Regiment N.C. Troops.

Anyone needing directions to the Weldon cemetery, located on the banks of the Chockoyotte Creek near downtown Weldon, should get in touch with the Halifax County Convention and Visitors Bureau.