When I was driving with family folk up in VA, we passed a small, brick-wall enclosed cemetery, with lots of headstones in carefully aligned rows. So I asked if it was primarily Confederate soldiers. There deep in the heart of the Confederacy, where Richmond was the capital, before the Union troops began to close in. And the gold bullion that supported the war was loaded up onto wagons to transport south, safe from the advancing Union Army. And then vanished, while desperately trying to stay ahead of Northern Aggression, disappeared, possibly in central Georgia, and never seen again.
I'm not certain if all the graves there, in that small plot on a street corner were of that era, but they were in neat rows, looking so like other national cemeteries I've visited or seen photos of. Those tidy little white monuments about two inches thick, with curved top. Later than day, when we drove by again, avoiding a strung out traffic snarl on the interstate, they pointed out the flags. Said if I looked real quick, through the gap in the wall where the entrance is, I could see that small American flags had been put out by each carefully tended white marker. My brother said he had often been with Boy Scouts who volunteer to put out flags in National Cemeteries prior to federal holidays of remembrance: Memorial Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day.
I've been thinking about that. And asked my friend PC if she would ride with me over to Ft. Mitchell this morning. It's a short drive south of Phenix City in Alabama. There is a national cemetery there: that's really about all there is to Ft. Mitchell. Though it was originally a fort and trading post on the Chattahoochee River, centuries ago. I think the land there was part of the reservation that is now Ft. Benning, on the GA. side of the river, and has been in recent years developed as a cemetery, as the one on post at Benning began to reach capacity.
I've been several places/national cemeteries over the years on a 'flag' holiday, mostly to see the hundreds and hundreds of small brightly colored banners placed in neat rows by each marker. And thought I would like to go to Ft. Mitchell today. PC always gets up and walks several miles each morning. So I asked her if she would like to go to Ft. Mitchell National Cemetery to do her walking today. I'll take a photo or two with my ratty little phone, but you won't see it until I can get closer to my tech support... keep watching this space!
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