Oakdale Cemetery (Wilmington, North Carolina)

Oakdale Cemetery is a cemetery in Wilmington, North Carolina that dates from the 19th century.[1]

Entrance To Oakdale Cemetery

History

Because existing cemeteries were becoming crowded, a group of citizens bought a 65-acre tract of land east of Burnt Mill Creek, east of the town limits.[1] The first interment was Annie DeRosset, age 6, on February 5, 1855. Her father, John DeRosset, was a physician and the first president of the cemetery corporation.[1]

Specialized sections

The cemetery has an enclosed Hebrew Cemetery, dating from 1855, as well as a Masonic section, at least one section for Odd Fellows, a section where the burials formerly at Front Street Methodist church were moved after an 1886 fire and a section for those with no other family.[1]

Confederate Soldier Memorial

Confederate Memorial

Along with regular grave sites for Confederate soldiers, a great burial mound was erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy for the dead Confederate soldiers from the Second Battle of Fort Fisher. Dedicated in 1872, a bronze statue of a regular soldier stands atop a large circular stone base. The dedication plaque reads,

"THIS MONUMENT WAS DEDICATED MAY 10, 1872 / TO PERPETUATE DEEDS OF THE BRAVE AND IN GRATEFUL / TRIBUTE TO THE MEMORY OF 550 HONORED UNKNOWN / CONFEDERATE DEAD AT THE BATTLE OF FORT FISHER / WHO LIE BURIED HERE / SPONSORED BY THE LADIES MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION LATER MERGED WITH DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY / SELF DENIAL - WORK - PRAYERS - TEARS - HEARTS BLOOD / ENTERED INTO ITS BUILDING"

.

According to the University of North Carolina, as many as 367 unknown dead soldiers are buried under the mound.[2]

Notable burials

References
  1. "History of Oakdale Cemetery".
  2. "Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina". 19 March 2010.

34.24461°N 77.93165°W / 34.24461; -77.93165

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