Johnson Island Confederate Cemetery

[WannaDig3687]

I took a mini vacation/mission trip last week to Lake Erie. I made it a point to take photos. I know your supposed to save the best for last, but this was a huge project and I wanted to get it on here. I'm only posting the highlights and giving a link to the album I created. It is a large file of photographs. I took a photo of every tombstone in case someone had an ancestor or a particular Confederate soldier they were interested in. Going into this project, I knew there could very likely be people on this site that have ancestors buried there. Even knowing that ahead of time, when I got to the very last tombstone, I felt like I got slapped and nearly fell on my rear end! I get it that I don't really know you all, outside of this site, but I am a particularly sensitive person. When I created the album, I started from beginning to end, thinking that's how it would post. Wrong! The very last tombstone is the very first pic in the album. I'm not sure if it is any relation or coincidence.

This is a causeway to the island. It is a $2.00 toll for nonresidents.













These are a couple views from the cemetery. The city view would be Sandusky.





There were a lot of graves marked with "Unknown" I only photographed a couple.



Here's the album:

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/members/116820-albums5028.html

Websites for more information:

http://www.johnsons-island.org/

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Johnson's_Island

This one gives a lot of information on the individuals

http://www.rbhayes.org/research/johnson-s-island-confederate-civil-war-prison-cemetery/

 

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[Davers]

What a nice thing to do.

I'm lame , I don't recall hearing of the Johnson Island Prison Camp.
Ill learn something.
&
That's a-lot of Tombstones , hopefully some body can see their ancestors grave , or pass the link on.
Thanks
Davers

 

[The Rebel]

As a former 12 year Confederate Re-enactor (before kids) I thank you for this.

It's good to know that they're not forgotten and they did not die in vain, especially in the PC era when these monuments are coming down.

I've visited several CW Cemeteries and saw many of the graves of the men of my Regiment & Company. I have walked the battlefields where they fought & died to get an idea of what they faced. I have our Regimental history that was written in 1905 by a member of our company. If it wasn't for his work this type of personal history would have been forgotten.

 

[WannaDig3687]

What a nice thing to do.

I'm lame , I don't recall hearing of the Johnson Island Prison Camp.
Ill learn something.
&
That's a-lot of Tombstones , hopefully some body can see their ancestors grave , or pass the link on.
Thanks
Davers

Thank You, Davers. I just felt like this site (TNet) has a lot of interest in Civil War History and many people may never have a chance to see this cemetery in person.

 

[WannaDig3687]

As a former 12 year Confederate Re-enactor (before kids) I thank you for this.

It's good to know that they're not forgotten and they did not die in vain, especially in the PC era when these monuments are coming down.

I've visited several CW Cemeteries and saw many of the graves of the men of my Regiment & Company. I have walked the battlefields where they fought & died to get an idea of what they faced. I have our Regimental history that was written in 1905 by a member of our company. If it wasn't for his work this type of personal history would have been forgotten.

Here is a site that has a little more information, but it doesn't seem to be current. Last events were in 2016.

Johnson's Island Civil War Prison

 

[The Rebel]

Thanks. My family goes back to Charleston back to the time of the Rev war.

 

[WannaDig3687]

More info on Johnson's Island..."The most elaborately planned prison escapes of the Civil War."

Johnson's Island - Ohio History Central

 

[scruggs]

What a thoughtful undertaking you took on! Great job

 

[WannaDig3687]

What a thoughtful undertaking you took on! Great job

Thank you. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to provide information.

 

[Mackaydon]

Kudos to you and your project
I believe what you have done is easily worthy of an HONORABLE MENTION here on T-net.
Don.....

 

[WannaDig3687]

Kudos to you and your project
I believe what you have done is easily worthy of an HONORABLE MENTION here on T-net.
Don.....

Thank you, Don. I've received Some encouragement from a few gentleman to take photographs of Ohio. I've also made a couple friends on here who are CW buffs and I dabble in geneology and have a soft spot for those who serve, past, present and future. I wish I was a better photographer and a little more tech savvy. I hope it helps someone in their research. I would love to hear the stories people have.

 

[RGINN]

Excellent, and thank you for doing that. Yes you deserve an honorable mention for historical documentation. I'm glad to see they are still remembered and the area is taken care of. I didn't spot any of my ancestors there, but some buried there were from the same areas. I don't know if you know anything about them, but I was wondering about a couple of the markers. One is M. R. Handy, Citizen. The other is R.H. Lisk, Cit zen(the I is missing.) Maybe they were employees there. Also, the one marked R.E.M. Was this erected after that one album they put out? (And I shouldn't joke, cause it's a sacred place, but I couldn't hold back on that one.) Thanks again for the time you took, and great pics.

 

[WannaDig3687]

Excellent, and thank you for doing that. Yes you deserve an honorable mention for historical documentation. I'm glad to see they are still remembered and the area is taken care of. I didn't spot any of my ancestors there, but some buried there were from the same areas. I don't know if you know anything about them, but I was wondering about a couple of the markers. One is M. R. Handy, Citizen. The other is R.H. Lisk, Cit zen(the I is missing.) Maybe they were employees there. Also, the one marked R.E.M. Was this erected after that one album they put out? (And I shouldn't joke, cause it's a sacred place, but I couldn't hold back on that one.) Thanks again for the time you took, and great pics.

Working on it. But I found one spelling is off. Don't if the marker is wrong or the account.

Sisk, Reuben : Citizen
Captured April 8, 1863 in Hopkins Co. Kentucky

Arrived April 29, 1863

Died Feb. 3, 1864 of small pox

Buried block 8, grave 2, now grave 140

NOTE: Sisk had no wooden grave marker in 1866. Very few private citizens buried at Johnson’s Island had wooden head markers. According to family tradition, Sisk raised horses and was asked by Federal authorities to sign a paper, pledging not to aid Confederates. Sisk told them he would feed any man who asked for it, so long as he had food, whereupon he was arrested. His horses were taken except for one, to be used by his wife in farming. Thereafter, Federal soldiers came by to be fed by Sisk’s wife and would push Sisk’s five children away from the table. Then the Federals would eat all the food.


Here's another citizen:

Shacklett, John A. : Citizen
Captured on unknown date in Mead Co. Kentucky

Arrived Dec. 25, 1862

Died Feb. 10, 1863 of diarrhea

Buried on island, grave unknown


I'm going to add these extra websites to the original post so we can all learn more.

 

[devldog]

Wrightdigger, I Thank You too for your work and research on our Confetrit' ancestors. My ancestors also date back to Charleston, S.C. My Dad was born there in 1932. Beautiful city with lots of History. Again, we Thank You. All our Ancestors deserve recognition and deserve the right to be remembered Honorably. All Ancestors Lives Matter.

 

[WannaDig3687]

Here's the only native American:

Hamilton, Simeon E. :Capt. Demeal’s Choctaw Indian Cav., Co. B
Captured Aug. 26, 1863 at Perryville or Eagletown, Indian Territory

Arrived Nov. 14, 1863

Died Feb. 5, 1864 of erysipelas or diphtheria

Buried block 5, grave 22, today grave 154

NOTE: Hamilton was the only Indian to die at Johnson’s Island and perhaps the only Indian to be imprisoned there. As one of Gen. Albert Pike’s Indian troops, Hamilton fought at Pea Ridge or Elk Horn Tavern in March 1862. He wrote a free verse poem about his trials as a prisoner on Johnson’s Island (see Appendix), and wrote a brief sketch of his life and religious feelings in a friend’s diary. More than anything, Hamilton wanted to be accepted as a man and not just as an Indian.He was, he said, a good Christian, a family man, and a quiet farmer—in addition to being a Confederate soldier, fighting for the same cause as the others. But when he died, prisoners carved a bow, arrows, a quiver, and a tomahawk on his wooden headboard. The Masons supposedly supplied a metallic coffin for the burial. And many doubted he would make it to heaven, presumably because he was an Indian.

 

[WannaDig3687]

Wrightdigger, I Thank You too for your work and research on our Confetrit' ancestors. My ancestors also date back to Charleston, S.C. My Dad was born there in 1932. Beautiful city with lots of History. Again, we Thank You. All our Ancestors deserve recognition and deserve the right to be remembered Honorably. All Ancestors Lives Matter.

You're welcome and I agree.

 

[RGINN]

Simeon Hamilton. Now that could be a distant relative cause I am related to the Chahta's by intermarriage to the Folsom's. Hopefully his spirit rests easy cause we accept him as a man, recognize him for what he was, and we all know you just went and did what they told you to do. Mostly I'm sorry you had to be buried up there, and they couldn't send your body back down to the Choctaw Nation. But I will now remember you, you aren't forgotten, and that's a little somethin, ain't it?

 

[WannaDig3687]

Simeon Hamilton. Now that could be a distant relative cause I am related to the Chahta's by intermarriage to the Folsom's. Hopefully his spirit rests easy cause we accept him as a man, recognize him for what he was, and we all know you just went and did what they told you to do. Mostly I'm sorry you had to be buried up there, and they couldn't send your body back down to the Choctaw Nation. But I will now remember you, you aren't forgotten, and that's a little somethin, ain't it?

Ah, yes. I remember you mentioning your heritage now. Amazing.

 

[tamrock]

That's a very worthwhile project, Wrightdigger. Thank you!

 

[WannaDig3687]

That's a very worthwhile project, Wrightdigger. Thank you!

Your welcome. I can't find it now, but I read somewhere that a property owner is preserving part of the camp. I didn't see anything like that. I hope to go back next year and investigate.