There was a rumor of a Confederate mass burial somewhere just north of Louisville. Supposedly, construction was started on an apartment complex and some burials were supposedly disturbed or discovered as dirt work was done for apartment construction. Careful internet searches narrowed down the possibilities to an area known today as Veteran’s Memorial Part in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
When an SCV member was able to stop in Jeffersonville and walk around the park, it was confirmed that there are in fact burials at this piece of property. Thankfully, the area was saved from destruction. The interesting part is that it was a known cemetery that should have never been touched. Several cast iron markers are in place at the site of what was known as the old City cemetery. Although not clearly stated, it seems like this spot was never really protected until the apartment project started uncovering burials.
The original City Cemetery, located on Mulberry Street, was opened in 1802 and it was a place to bury all of the deceased residents of Jeffersonville. The other spot used for burials was the Fort Stueben cemetery and was very close to the Ohio River. It is thought that this cemetery was used up to the 1840s and abandoned when the fort closed. It contained prisoners, Revolutionary War soldiers, and others. Due to flooding conditions, it was decided to move the internments from the Fort Stueban cemetery to the City cemetery. When other newer cemeteries were opened, they were preferred locations and the Old City Cemetery fell into deferred maintenance and faded memories.
Historical records have been lost and old wooden markers deteriorated not too long after burials.
It is not clear where this marker is located (it quite possibly is no longer at Colston Park) All evidence points to the location being someplace at the old city cemetery (a.k.a. Colston Park). Various internet records seem to indicate that Veteran’s memorial park was carved from the eastern side of Colston Park. In fact, the apartment complex is known as the Colston Park Residential Lofts.
The current sign at the Veteran’s Memorial park indicates there are “at least two” Confederate burials. So, if that is true, what happened to the hundreds of soldiers mentioned in the orginal memorial?
The large stone marker indicates that the cemetery contains hundreds of soldiers who were killed in the western theater which likely involved battles along the Mississippi or in places like southern Missouri or Arkansas.
One thing is that embalming was a fairly new process and not readily available. The lack of refrigerated transport and other logistical obstacles seem to indicate that these soldiers were most likely alive when they made it here. It is possible they were sick or injured and died at a hospital nearby.
We might never really know the truth to what seems like a strange mystery.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans, Indiana Division will continue trying to gather information and tie historical puzzle pieces together. If you know anything about the history of this area, please feel free to offer your comments.
