Three families honored their Confederate-veteran ancestors with cemetery dedications of their family member’s gravesite who served their country during the Civil War. Each family remembered their family member in a different way.

One family, the descendants of Abram Polk Shelton, attended a more formal memorial service sponsored by The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), NC Division, District Four, also referred to as the NC Division Madison-Mayodan Greys Chapter. The UDC agreed to mark the grave of Abram Polk Shelton (1845-1923) with the Southern Cross as one of their annual service projects, according to Sylvia Fain, the great-granddaughter of Shelton and a member of the Madison-Mayodan Greys.

Abram Polk Shelton enlisted in the Confederate Army, 32nd Virginia Regiment, Company K, in 1863 at the age of 18. He fought for two years before being wounded on April 5, 1865 at the Battle of Chickahominy Bluffs in Richmond, VA, just days before the war’s end.

“He was shot in the face but was able to hide much of the scarring behind his beard,” stated Fain. “With this injury, he is included with the more than 50 percent of Confederate soldiers who were killed or wounded during battle.”

Upon his discharge, Shelton returned to the flatlands of NC and VA where he led a quiet life of farming. In 1870, he married Perline Shelton who was the daughter of a Confederate soldier, Anderson Shelton, who died during his service in the Civil War. The Sheltons had 10 children over the next few years. Abram died on April 19, 1923 and was buried next to her at Northview Primitive Baptist Church in Danbury.

On June 7, the UDC and two regiments of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), Rockingham Rangers Camp 1835 of Mayodan and the Stewart-Harriston Camp 515 of Martinsville, VA, conducted the ceremony wearing historically accurate uniforms and weaponry at Northview Primitive Baptist Church in Danbury.

After the SCV presentation of the U.S., NC and Confederate colors or flags, the “widow” Sue Sawyers, dressed in her black mourning clothes including a black parasol, placed a wreath at the gravesite. Several of the 13 uniformed Confederate re-enactors were nearby in case their assistance was needed, whether for helping the widow place the wreath or reviving her “should she become overwhelmed with grief or faint,” Fain recalled.

Rev. Steve Parker of Beaver Island Baptist Church in Mayodan presided over the June 7 memorial and offered prayers for all dead soldiers. After the Confederate re-enactors unveiled the Confederate (Southern) Cross marker installed at the gravesite, Parker concluded his service by leading the group in singing “I Wish I Was in Dixie Land,” the unofficial song of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. Moments later the booming sound of the three-round volley of cannon fire ended the ceremony.

According to Fain, 65 people from NC and VA attended the memorial service; 35 attendees were family members with 22 of them being direct descendants of Abram Polk Shelton.

What Fain will remember most about the day is the pageantry of a military memorial service: “The drama of the flags gently waving as uniformed soldiers, reverent and silent, carried them to the graveside reminded us of the real cost and tragedy of war,” she remembered.

Fain reported that family members who attended the service found it “a very interesting yet respectful way to pay respect to their grandfather, give thanks for his service to our country and an interesting way to learn a bit about the history of Civil War soldiers, and become acquainted or reacquainted with family members.”

Two weeks prior to the Shelton memorial, on May 25, another family, descendants of Austin C. Rhodes, coordinated a cemetery dedication and Civil War reenactment at the Rhodes Family Cemetery in Lawsonville for Austin and his two brothers who served in the Civil War. Members of the (SCV) Wharton-Stuart Camp of Stuart, VA, conducted the Memorial Day weekend event.

Austin C., Hardin J., and James Henry Rhodes, Jr., were the sons of James Henry Rhodes, Sr., and Sarah “Sallie” Smith Rhodes of Stokes County. Each served in Company H of the 22nd NC Infantry Regiment.

Hardin, the middle brother and the first to enlist on June 1, 1861, was the only one not to return home from the war as he died from pneumonia on December 10, 1862, according to Olivia “Libby” Montgomery, one of Austin’s granddaughters who also reported that it is unknown where Hardin is buried.

Austin was 26 when he enlisted on March 1, 1862. He was a widowed father of four children whom he left with his mother while he was away at war.

Both Austin and Hardin were injured at Frayser’s Farm in June during the Seven Days Campaign of the war.

Two years later, James Henry, Jr., turned 18 and enlisted in August 1864 to serve the Confederate States Army.

In less than a year, on April 2, 1865, Austin was captured as a prisoner of war at Hatcher’s Run, VA. On April 5 James Jr. was captured at Hatcher’s Run as well, just days before General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox on April 9, 1865.

Both soldiers were transported to and confined at Hart’s Island, NY until they were released on June 19, 1865 after taking an oath of allegiance. Both brothers returned to Stokes County.

Austin married Matilda Frances Spencer (his second wife) upon his return and had 11 children including six sons and five daughters, in addition to two sons from his previous marriage. He died February 17, 1920 at the age of 83.

James Jr. returned home and married Emma L.W. Rhodes. They had eight children including four sons and four daughters; five of whom were born in NC, the other three in North Dakota. James Jr. returned to Stokes County alone on November 1, 1923. He died on December 14, 1928 at the age of 82.

Montgomery stated, “What I will remember most about the day is trying to get it organized and finding someone to present it, as well as worrying about the weather. Also, the pride I had of getting it done and thinking and remembering my grandfather.” She spent 16 years researching her family roots after her father passed away.

The Rhodes brothers’ dedication was conducted by the Wharton Stuart Camp SCV of Stuart, VA in their Confederate uniforms. Among the re-enactors was Austin’s great-great-great-great grandson, Jamie Holt, who presented the service message for the event after the presentation of the flags on the gravesites of Austin and James Henry. Another member of the SCV, Mike Corns, read a message about what it means to be a southerner and about living in the south, followed by a 21-gun salute using old powder guns, replicas of the rifles used during the Civil War.

According to Montgomery, an estimated 75 people including family members and friends from NC; Chattanooga, TN; and Patrick County, VA attended the event at the family cemetery following the Rhodes Family reunion held earlier that day.

On June 27, another Confederate grave marker was installed in Stokes County in the Union Hill area off Flat Shoals Road. Though much less formal than the other cemetery dedications, a Confederate veteran, Henry Martin Gibson, received a Southern Cross grave marker, thanks to his great-great grandson Pat Boyles, a genealogy and history buff.

Boyles conducted genealogical research and visited cemeteries in search of his relatives. Referring to a family Bible and an obituary for Gibson’s wife, Eliza Ann Elizabeth Gentry, confirmed Boyles’ idea that Gibson was buried in the Union Hill cemetery. When he discovered Gibson’s grave, Boyles “wondered why there was no marker in place” for Gibson, a Confederate veteran who served in Company D of the 57th NC Infantry from July 4, 1862 until 1865.

He contacted Mike Cumby, a well-know Stokes County genealogical historian attempting to assure Confederate veterans all have grave markers, assisted Boyles in filing the application with the Department of Veterans Affairs and contacting cemetery officials. A few weeks later, the grave marker was delivered, free of charge from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, for installation on the gravesite nearly 98 years after Gibson’s death.

While there were no Confederate re-enactors in uniform or a pastor to present a message, Pat Boyles, Mike Cumby and fellow genealogy researcher, Judy Cardwell, oversaw the installation of the over 200-pound granite grave marker. Boyles and Cumby each took turns digging. “Mike knew exactly what to do as he has installed them before. He knew exactly how deep to dig, mixed the concrete that would be used to hold the marker in place, and brought water so once the grass was replaced we could water it really well,” recalled Boyles as he admitted he had “never done it before.”

With his continued search, Boyles discovered that his great-great grandfather enlisted in Forsyth County on July 4, 1862 at age 33. According to Boyles, NC pension records indicated that Private Henry M. Gibson was wounded in the head, back, right arm and both ankles by the explosion of a shell at Fredericksburg on December 1, 1862.

Gibson died on December 24, 1910, leaving behind his wife and four of five of his children. Boyles does not know what reason left his great-grandfather with no marker, but he speculated, “Maybe there was no money for one.”

After submitting his application to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Boyles claimed it was less than a 12-week wait for the delivery of the stone marker. After a backbreaking day of digging and installing the granite stone, Boyles was glad he was able to get it done.