The Missouri in the Civil War Message Board

Re: Missouri men buried in Shady Grove Cem. at Iuk

I live in Iuka MS,and have been doing quite a bit of research lately on the burials at Shady Grove Cemetery. This mass burial trench is the only burial ground that I am aware of in which Confederates were reinterred. However, I do feel that we have many Confederates buried in and around Iuka who were not reinterred at Shady Grove, simply because their graves were not in a place which caused concern to the citizens of the town. Unfortunately, the Confederate soldiers who lie buried in those graves will never be known. Neither are we able to identify ALL of the CSA soldiers buried at Shady Grove.

Let's look at the following :
(posted on this board by Gay Mathis)

Memphis Daily Avalanche--6/15/1867--(Note: Just some excerpts and not the complete article that may help or not..)
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At a meeting of the citizens of Iuka, Mississippi held at the Iuka Springs Hotel May 26, 1867 for the purpose of making the necessary arrangements to have the Confederate dead removed from the corporate limits of Iuka, and reinterred at some suitable place near this village

Resolved: That we fully approve of Dr. Wilson's suggestion of having the Confederate dead removed from the corporate limits of Iuka, where their graves are exposed in lots and gardens, and other places much to the inconvenience of many of our citizens; and that Dr. Wilson is hereby authorized to remove the remains of said dead to Shady Grove Cemetery, and there re-interred them as speedily as possible.

Resolved: That as there were about 200 Confederate soldiers buried within our corporate limits, we believe the sum of one thousand dollars will be fair recompense for said work, and Dr. Wilson is hereby authorized to collect by subscriptions or donations, from any source he may select, until the full amount above specified has been collected to remunerate him for the work.

Resolved: That we would earnestly solicit from our Southern friends, everywhere such donations as Dr. Wilson may request, until this noble work is completed and paid for.

Resolved: That the proceedings of this meeting be published in the Iuka papers and forwarded to the Memphis papers for publication, and that all Southern papers be requested to copy.

According to the article in the Memphis Avalanche that was published in June of 1867 (Jeff Giambrone posted it on this board), Dr Wm. M. Willson is quoted as saying " There are also one hundred and thirty-eight others, known by the citizens here to have been Missourians, but the registry of their names and of the companies and regiments has been lost, and the headboards that were placed originally at their graves, were so much defaced that I am unable to make a report of their proper inscriptions now for the benefit of surviving friends and relatives.

Confederates who died from their wounds while POW's at the hospital here are mostly/some/all? buried in Iuka, somewhere. Since your Thomas Elkin was a Missourian, he could easily be one of the 138 mentioned above by Dr. Willson. Many of the wounded from the Corinth battle were sent to the hospital at Iuka, many of them died here.

I am sorry that I cannot confirm exactly where your Thomas Elkin is buried, unless his family came and got his body, most likely he is buried somewhere in Iuka, either in the mass burial trench or in a conveniently placed (for the townspeople) grave.

I hope this helps,
Judith Walker

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Missouri men buried in Shady Grove Cem. at Iuka..?
Re: Missouri men buried in Shady Grove Cem. at Iuk
Re: Missouri men buried in Shady Grove Cem. at Iuk
Re: Missouri men buried in Shady Grove Cem. at Iuk
Re: Missouri men buried in Shady Grove Cem. at Iuk
Re: Missouri men buried in Shady Grove Cem. at Iuk