America’s Civil War: Where Does Private Jemison Rest
By Alexandra Filipowski and Hugh T. Harrington

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In all likelihood, if Private Jemison was buried at Memory Hill in his own grave, his family would have given him a monument separate from his brother Henry’s. The obelisk dedicated to the brothers has loving inscriptions to Private Jemison carved on it from his mother and father. The one from his father states in Latin, "It is sweet and honorable to die for one’s country," while the one from his mother says: "A more dutiful son never lived. A braver soldier never died. Peace to his ashes." If Private Jemison was buried in the unmarked grave to the north of Robert Small Pratt, or in any other plot for that matter, it is quite probable that those loving words would be placed on top of that grave, and not the one for Henry.

Another piece of evidence that indicates Private Jemison’s body remains elsewhere is his obituary. During the Civil War, the newspapers of Milledgeville printed few obituaries, and the ones that were printed were very short, mostly for officers. It is somewhat surprising, therefore, to find a long obituary for Private Jemison. Regarding his burial, the obituary states, "May He who maketh wars to cease, comfort the sorrowing parents whose boy lies, buried by loving hands, on the battle field near Richmond," making it clear that at the time of his death, Private Jemison was buried with his fellow soldiers.

The obituary in itself is not conclusive evidence of the private’s remains not being in Memory Hill. As mentioned, some bodies, even several years after the war, were disinterred and shipped home. No record, however, of such a shipment or reburial has been discovered in the Milledgeville newspapers. Such events were unusual, and several cases were mentioned in the local newspapers.

In addition, the Richmond National Battlefield Park, the national park that includes Malvern Hill, has no records of Confederate soldiers being systematically removed from their graves on that battlefield, although it is known that Union soldiers were removed for reburial between 1865 and 1866. While some Southern troops may have been individually relocated, it is doubtful that there were more than a few.

That fact, in conjunction with the lack of newspaper coverage in Milledgeville for a burial at Memory Hill, the lack of space in the cemetery plot and a single monument dedicated to both Jemison brothers, strongly suggests that Private Edwin Francis Jemison is, in all probability, buried under an "unknown" marker still on the "battle field near Richmond."

This article was written by Alexandra Filipowski and Hugh T. Harrington and published in the May 2004 issue of America’s Civil War magazine.For more great articles be sure to subscribe to America’s Civil War magazine today!

Tags: America's Civil War, American Civil War, Historical Conflicts

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