Florence National Cemetery, SC
803 E. National Cemetery Road, Florence, SC 29501
843-669-8783
Marked Graves of Union Soldiers
Project to Identify the Soldiers buried as Unknown
The following information is provided by
Sons of Confederate Veterans, Pee Dee Rifles #1419
107 South Guerry Street, Florence, SC 29501
War Between the States Museum - 843-669-1266
Florence National Cemetery is the smaller of two such shrines in South Carolina; the other is at Beaufort. Located 1/4 mile north of the former site of the Florence Confederate Stockade, the cemetery was created when a plantation owner named James H. Jarrott allowed the dead to be buried in trenches on his property near the camp. The first burial took place on September 17, 1864, and the cemetery was established as a National Cemetery in 1865.
Original interments were made in two separate burial grounds, the largest one containing approximately 2,322 remains. Interments in the larger burial grounds were made in 16 trenches and when the cemeteries were placed under jurisdiction of the federal government, the larger burial ground was designated a National Cemetery. The remains from the small burial ground [416 graves] were reinterred at the National Cemetery, as well as remains moved from Darlington, Cheraw, the Marion Districts and the Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston.
One of the five "known" interments in the trenches is that of Florena Budwin who disguised herself as a man and enlisted in the Union Army in order to follow her husband, a Captain from Pennsylvania. Her husband was killed and Florena was captured. Her identity was finally discovered in the prison stockade at Florence, where she remained to help nurse the prisoners until she became ill and died on January 25, 1865. She is believed to be the first female service member to be buried in a National Cemetery. [She has the only marked grave in Row # 13]
View of the pathway between the rows of trenches at Florence containing many Unknowns.
Many of the dead were marked "Unknown". What a burden of sorrows, disappointed hopes, and miseries were embodied in that word! Their names, their history all unknown, uncared-for, they died. Some mother, wife, father, or sister mourns them, or vainly waits for their coming. Each sound of footsteps at the door may cause their hearts to throb with expectancy; but no more in life shall they behold those faces which once gladdened the household. "Sick and in prison," they lingered and died, unknown. -- Sergeant Warren Lee Goss, 2nd MA Heavy Artillery, POW, Florence Stockade.
The Old Darlington District Chapter of the SC Genealogical Society, in conjunction with our society, is attempting to identify the 2300 "Unknown" Union soldiers buried at the Florence National Cemetery. Most, if not all, of these soldiers came from the Florence Stockade. The project is going very well, with over 1800 soldiers being identified. Anyone with proof of a soldier dying at the Florence Stockade should forward that information so that the list can be more complete. Please include the source of this information as well.
***The "Union Dead of the Florence Stockade," by Rev. Albert Ledoux; the publication of the database of known soldiers who died in the Florence Stockade is now available. The price for the book is $25, which includes postage. Orders can be sent to the Old Darlington District Chapter, SCGS, P.O. Box 175, Hartsville, SC 29551-0175. Make checks payable to: ODDC SCGS.***
All inquires concerning this project should contact:
John L. Andrews, Jr. JAndr45985@aol.com
PO Box 175, Hartsville, SC 29551-0175
CIVIL WAR UNION BURIALS
"On each side of this marker lie the remains of approximately 2300 Union soldiers who died as prisoners in the Florence Prison Stockade, between September 1864 and February 1865. The Stockade was located across Cemetery Street on Stockade Road. Burials are in trenches indicated by stone markers at the end of each row, showing the number of individuals placed there.
Names of those in trench burials were lost after the war but are being researched by the Old Darlington District Chapter, SC Genealogical Society. A current list of known casualties is located on a database in the visitor center for public reference. Signs on Stockade Road indicate the site of the Confederate Stockade. This marker erected by Friends of the Florence Stockade, May 30, 1998."