Along the Valley Pike in Mount Jackson, today there stands a cemetery containing approximately 400 Graves of Confederate soldiers. This meticulously mowed and maintained space marks the final resting place of men from 11 of the 13 Confederate states. The first internment was made in September of 1861 and the final internment in December of 1864. The cemetery was officially dedicated in May of 1866, approximately one year after the end of the Civil War by a memorial association organized by local community members. Three decades later, In 1897, the Mount Jackson Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy was founded to perpetuate care of the cemetery and erect a monument. The white marble monument was installed in 1903 and stood as the only marker for the soldiers buried there for over a century. Today there are several plaques and a few individual headstones giving the names and units of the soldiers who rest there.
One might ask why was this spot chosen for a cemetery right along the main thoroughfare in the middle of a town? The Valley Turnpike was the major road through the Shenandoah Valley and a better use might have been made of this real estate for commercial or private enterprise. The proximity to the active railroad certainly made this a valuable plot of land. In September of 1861 under direction of the Confederate Medical Department in Richmond, a hospital was built directly across the road from the cemetery. Those who succumbed to their wounds and illnesses were buried on the hospital grounds. The hospital was part of the Confederate Hospital System that provided care for wounded and sick soldiers throughout the state of Virginia. It consisted of three 2 story buildings each approximately 150 feet long and sat on a plot of land donated by Colonel Levi Rinker. The hospital was directed by Doctor Andrew Russell Meem, a native of the local area. The hospital had a capacity of 500 patients and operated through the latter part of 1864. Federal troops occupying the area tore down the structures in the summer of 1865 and used the materials to build a military base on Rude's Hill South of Mt. Jackson along the Valley Pike. Those structures were removed in 1875 when our nation's Reconstruction era came to an end.
The cemetery is a definite reminder of the ultimate sacrifice so many made during our nation's most bloody conflict. Today, it quietly sits along a busy road through a small town, unnoticed by many as they travel past. The hundreds of names listed on the bronze plaques all have families they left behind and never saw again when they left home to go to war. Each one has a story. The cemetery is a solemn place to consider the trials our great nation has gone through during it's history.
2022 marks the 250th Anniversary of Shenandoah County and would be a great time to visit this hallowed ground in Mt. Jackson.
The care for the cemetery is managed by the non-profit Our Soldiers Cemetery Association through donations. If interested in contributing send donations to
Our Soldiers Cemetery, PO Box 939 Mt. Jackson, VA 22842
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