SOUTHERN HERITAGE PRESERVATION IN BRITAIN

About 12 months ago someone thought it would be a good idea to list the gravesites of those connected with the war of 61 that were buried in Britain .As I am a full member of the SCV and a Confederate re-enactor I took a great interest in this, but I was surprised to see only 5 confirmed cases of CS servicemen on the list .All these five were well known cases .

As I had been tracing my own genealogy I had picked up a few hints along the way on how to research grave sites . Now I know that some may disagree, but I personally believe that the preservation and honouring of Confederate gravesites is Heritage Preservation at its most positive .I knew that the crews of the CSN commerce raiders had lots of British among them. I got hold of the rosters of those ships ,and took a look at the www sites concerned with them. I soon had many more names and was able to put messages on family name enquiry boards, some people contacted me and were able to say where their family members were buried. Others, who had general information on CS servicemen on hearing of what I was doing, were able to give me more names and details.

Now I have about 60 confirmed cases of CS servicemen buried here, with another 400 or so under investigation . It is my guess that between 400 and 2000 Confederates are buried in Britain. Many of these men like CS servicemen everywhere are destined never to have their final resting place located. Also, many of those buried here are honoured with floral tributes and CS flags at their gravesides. In January of this year, possibly the largest CS memorial ever to take place outside America took place in Liverpool, when a memorial orchestrated by the UDC of America and Roy Rawlinson of Southport ,England attracted over 40 people mostly in CS uniform. This was a great occasion to honour 100 yrs since the passing of Comm J D Bulloch CSN.

CS flags now fly besides the gravesites of CS soldiers literally buried the length and breadth of Britain, from Liverpool on the West coast to Scarborough on the East, and from Cornwall in the South West to Scotland in the North.

At the moment, I am trying to place a CS grave marker at every CS gravesite in Britain. Two have already been placed and a Texan lady has donated the cost of five others which are now on order. This would be a fine tribute in itself, to have all those CS grave markers cemented in at the gravesites. Other projects here are to repair the stone of Lt. I .S. Bulloch, CSN, which is in need of serious repair. There are gravestones of some of the CSS Alabama sailors just propped up against church walls. This situation also needs correcting .If you or any of your members would care to make a small contribution, I would mention their assistance at the memorials, and inform the surviving decendents with their permission.

Also, a further large memorial is planned for July, 2003, when it is hoped the repaired gravestone of Lt. I S Bulloch, of the CSS Shenandoah will be re-dedicated. Any contributions towards this can also be made to me.

But...whether you contribute or not you are always welcome to contact me for more information on the CS soldiers and sailors buried here, should any of your members be especially interested. Anyone can have copies of the photos I have of CS graves here, also photos of the memorial to Comm J D Bulloch mentioned earlier. Should any of your members come to Britain, I will let them know where the graves are in the area they are staying, and personally show them those in my local area. I have been given plenty of assistance in acquiring the names of the CS dead buried here. Special thanks must go to Chris Old, of the Southern Skirmish Assoc. for his original list of those buried here ,and Terry Foenander, of Australia, who supplied 90% of all the possible names .A very special mention must also be made of SCV Camp #1770 ( Capt James I Waddell ) for their generous donation of grave marker flags for the CS personnel buried here.

Anyone wanting more information or wanting to contribute towards Southern Heritage Preservation in Britain can contact me at..

JOHN COLLIER
8 LISVANE AVENUE
SCARBOROUGH
N. YORKS ENGLAND
YO12 5 LU

Yours

John Collier
Full member SCV Camp # 584 ( Maj-Gen W D McCain)
Assoc. member SCV Camp # 1770 ( Capt. James I Waddell)




Copyright 2001-2002
14 July 2001


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