Cedar Hill Lagniappe

One of my favorite places in Vicksburg to explore and photograph is a beautiful old cemetery called Cedar Hill. I have written several posts featuring some of the magnificent monuments there, and no matter how many times I visit the cemetery, I find new and interesting things (to me, anyway) to capture with my camera.

(If you would like to read some of my previous posts, you can click on the links at the bottom of this post.)

I was in the cemetery a couple of days ago to take some pictures for a recent post (A House Under Siege), and here are a few things that caught my attention ...

I love old iron fences and was sad to see the remnants of this one literally being claimed by the earth.

I love this old bench that was sitting under a tree in a family plot, high on a hill.

And the sweet inscription on this stone, which was in the plot where the bench was, tugged at my heart ...

This brick is part of an old brick wall, and I wondered about its origin.

I "googled" Tanner bricks, Vicksburg, and discovered that the J. D. Tanner Brick Manufacturing plant in Vicksburg, was established about 1880. The bricks were manufactured by "the soft-mud process," and were molded by hand! Don't you just love Google! It is an invaluable and unlimited fountain of information and history for me in my never-ending quest to tell "the rest of the story."

And speaking of which, I would love to know about the family who loved and lost their twin sons on the day of their birth that September day in 1907. I love the inscription on the stone ...

I so wanted to put this stone back together ...

I truly think I could spend an entire day in Cedar Hill Cemetery and be perfectly content. I especially want to visit the "Soldiers' Rest" section of the cemetery, which is the final resting place for an estimated 5,000 Confederate soldiers who died of sickness or wounds during the Siege of Vicksburg.

We have been enjoying several days of spring-like weather here in Vicksburg, so perhaps I can take a day next week and explore Soldiers' Rest. Wish you could go with me!

Previous posts featuring Cedar Hill: The Monuments of Cedar Hill In the Arms of the Angels Forever in Stone Fences and Finials

Rambling Around Vicksburg -- Part II

Cedar Hill Cemetery in Vicksburg is one of my favorite places. Every time I go, I discover new and interesting things to photograph. I honestly think I could spend an entire day there exploring and never get bored or tired. This may sound strange, but it's almost like a spiritual experience.

I guess that's why my Tuesday afternoon outing ended there. The clouds were rolling in when I arrived and the skies looked threatening, but the rains held off and I enjoyed just driving and walking around, stopping when something caught my eye.

I didn't get any really spectacular pictures, but I loved rambling through the old monuments, some of which are truly works of art. Like this beautiful lady ...

A view of the Confederate Cemetery ...

Also called "Soldiers Rest," it is beautiful in the summertime. I took this picture when I was there last July ...

I love the simplicity of
this little ivy-covered cross ...

There are several stones like this one that have been "embraced" by trees ...

One of my favorite spots in the cemetery ...

As I was leaving the cemetery, I noticed this old stone cross, tangled in ivy and vines, sitting on a bluff beside the road ...

I want to go back sometime and get a closer look at that one ... perhaps in the spring.

In the Arms of the Angels ...

I have always loved old cemeteries and recently discovered Cedar Hill Cemetery in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

The City of Vicksburg served as a major hospital center in the early years of the Civil War, and a section in the Cedar Hill Cemetery was set aside to provide a fitting burial place for Confederate soldiers who died of sickness or wounds. Known as "Soldiers Rest," the plot in Cedar Hill Cemetery is the final resting place for an estimated 5,000 Confederate soldiers.
I visited Cedar Hill on July 3rd, with the intention of taking pictures in the Soldiers Rest section of the cemetery. However, as I drove through the gates, I saw row after row of some of the most beautiful monuments I've ever seen. Needless to say, I was sidetracked from my original plan.
As I drove down the lanes between the markers, I realized that "Soldiers Rest" would have to wait for another time. I was captivated by the haunting beauty of the old monuments. And haunting they were.
I was absolutely in awe of the artistry and masonry skill involved in the creation of the statues. The meticulously ornate detailing, the expressions on the faces, attention to proportion ... each monument looks as if it was created with love and is truly a work of art.
I was especially drawn to the monuments of children, and I was overcome by emotion as I photographed them. Some people may think it's weird or disrespectful to photograph graves, but to me it's a way of preserving the memory of the loved ones whose final resting places were marked with such exquisite and loving memorials by their families.
I'd like to share with you a few of these wonderful old memorials.
The first monument is one of the most beautiful, and also one of the most heartrending I have ever seen. It just took my breath away when I saw it.

Yes, that's a mother and her baby boy lying below her who died when he was five months old to the day [August 27, 1880 - January 27, 1881 (notice how January is abbreviated)].
As I left Margaret and her little John B., Jr., I thought I'd never find another monument as pretty or as sweet. But I didn't have far to go until I discovered this mother and daughter.

Notice the detail of their shoes and the trim on their clothing ...


But the most poignant thing to me about this exquisite monument is their hands. They brought tears to my eyes when I first saw them because they look so real ...

It's amazing to me how something made of stone can evoke so much emotion. But these monuments spoke volumes to me, not only about the people who were buried there, but also about the artists and masons who created them.
Here's another sweet one ...

And this is Linka, who was seven when she died ...


This precious little angel marks the resting place of two little sisters who were buried in the same grave ...

I found it ironic that Lena, who died in 1905 at the age of one year died before her sister Lillian was born in 1906. Lillian was five when she died in 1911.

This is Dorothy, who was seven when she died in 1910 ...

I would dearly love to know the stories of these sweet children who were immortalized by their loved ones through these beautiful and heartrending monuments.