These are not graves.
These are markers to memoralize
the Federal soldiers who died in the
Cahawba Military Prison during the
Civil War. The men within the prison
called it "Castle Morgan."
No one knows where in Cahawba these
men were initially buried. However,
we do know that they are no longer
here. In 1867, after the war, the Federal
government dug them up and moved
them to a cemetery in Montgomery
Alabama. Later they were moved again
to Marietta National Cemetery in
Georgia, where they rest today.
With each move, a new list of the dead
was made. The numbers of unknowns
increased as names got separated from
bodies. There are many discrepancies
among the lists, but the original
Cahawba hospital ledger recorded 142
deaths.
Lest We Forget
Several government employees and citizens of Northern states died in Castle Morgan. The Veteran's Administration graciously supplied these memorial markers but could not supply markers for citizen deaths. Here is a list of those men's names, states, and death dates:
Henry Fairchild, unknown, Sept. 8, 1864
Martin N. Hardy, Illinois, Sept 25, 1864
S. D. Adams, unknown, Sept. 25, 1864
Calvin Erving, Illinois, Oct. 8, 1864
(or Alvin Irving)
N. M. Edwards, unknown, Jan. 8, 1865
G.
D. Smith, New York, Jan. 11, 1865
John Lowdon, New York, Jan. 22, 1865
W. G. Watson, Maine, Feb. 14, 1865
Major Hiram Solon Hanchett
16th Illinois Cavalry
On January 20th, 1865, Major Hanchett led a daring but unsuccessful revolt inside the military prison. In March when the other soldiers were sent to parole camp, the post commandant Sam Jones detained Hanchett because he believed him to be a spy. In April, as Union forces were approaching, Confederate soldiers seized Hanchett, took him from town and executed him. His body lies today in an unmarked grave.
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