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Confederate tombstones on their way to resting place |
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Tuscaloosa News |
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Date: 5/8/2004 |
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by Adam Jones |
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COTTONDALE | One by one Thursday the tombstones were loaded into the truck bed, packed carefully for a journey that for years was incomplete. |
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A picture of a tombstone and a paragraph in an article about a two-day auction of Burton's collection Wednesday, April 21, in The Tuscaloosa News alarmed Dockery. |
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| Burton said he didn't intend to sell the tombstones at the auction, but that the tombstones had been revealed. | |
| Tombstones for any American soldier, even Confederates, are the property of the federal Veterans Administration, said Chuck Gerdau, the Tuscaloosa representative of the Alabama Cemetery Preservation Alliance. Dockery contacted the VA in Washington, D.C., about the tombstones, which sent a letter to Burton to inform him that he had government property. |
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| "We didn't want to cause him any trouble," Dockery said. "He's just an innocent party." | |
| One of the markers is for an unknown soldier, but the others are for men from Calhoun County, and most belong in Jacksonville, Dockery said. | |
| "Somebody ordered them there in Jacksonville, and they just never got there," he said. "They probably got lost in the shuffle." | |
| There is no way to tell who ordered the markers and when without digging through paper records in Washington because VA computer records begin in 1997, Dockery said. One of the markers is broken at the top, and Dockery guessed that it fell on the foot of a worker delivering them. In the haste to take care of the deliverer, the tombstones were forgotten about. |
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| They were probably discovered in a storage house and then sold to Burton's friend, who had them for about nine years, Burton said. | |
| Eight of the men are buried at the Jacksonville City Cemetery. Four are buried elsewhere, but the tombstones could be placed in the Confederate Rest section in Jacksonville, according to an e-mail from Bill Daniel of the Jacksonville Sons of Confederate Veterans. If any of the markers can't be used, they must be destroyed, Gerdau said. The VA advised that Burton transfer ownership to Gerdau who then transferred ownership to the Sons of Confederate Veterans, who will deliver them to Jacksonville today. After seeing the article in the newspaper, Dockery was worried that people would believe tombstones could be bought and sold. |
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| Burton wouldn't say how much he paid for the markers. | |
| "Some things aren't about money," he said. "Something good came out of this, and I'm glad it's over." | |
| Reach Adam Jones at adam.jones@tuscaloosanews.com or 722-0230. | |
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| ACPA Note: How it all transpired. Walter Dockery, a member of the Sons of Confederate Soldiers first saw the antique dealer notice in the April 21, 2004 Tuscaloosa News and contacted David Allen, also a member of the CSV. Chip DeShields of the Alabama Preservation Alliance (APA), Ted Urquhart and Joyce Nicoll of the Alabama Cemetery Preservation Alliance (ACPA) were also notified. Bill Daniel, the Commander of the SCV unit in Jacksonville, AL answered Allen's call, saying they were all from his area and transported the stones to their final resting places. Dockery and Urquhart contacted Mark Henderson of the Veteran's Administration in Washington DC, who authorized the ACPA to take possession of the markers and the SCV to place the markers in their appropriate places. ACPA's Tuscaloosa County Representative, Chuck Gerdau, took possession of the markers and turned them over to Dockery for transport to Birmingham. Lisa Baggett, the ACPA Secretary and County Rep for Talladega is covering the Jacksonville end and will document the final placement of the stones. |
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| ACPA Notice: The ACPA Representative for Tuscaloosa County is Chuck Gerdeau. If you would like to contact Chuck about this article or any cemetery issues in Tuscaloosa County, please visit the ACPA Tuscaloosa County Representative Page for contact information. | |
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| ACPA Notice: There is no ACPA Representative for Calhoun County - The ACPA is looking for a good person to volunteer for our Calhoun County Representative. If you are interested please contact the ACPA County Coordinator to find out more. The volunteer must reside in or on the edge of Calhoun County. | |
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Cemetery Preservation Alliance (ACPA), 2003-2009 |
