RICHMOND COUNTY, VA - CEMETERIES – Oakwood Cemetery ----¤¤¤---- Source: Library of Virginia Digital Collection LVA Titled Files: Survey Report, Oakwood Cemetery: 1936 Mar. 30 Research made by Malcolm T. Earley Cemetery Location: The entrance is at the intersection of Oakwood Avenue and Mill Road, Richmond, Virginia. Richmond Co., Virginia DATE: Oakwood Cemetery was founded in 1855, the first burial being in July of that year. OWNERS: Sixty acres comprised the purchase in 1854 from the estate of Emily C. Shores, the original property having belonged to Judge Shores. This property was bought by William Cooke from John New in 1821, subsequently bought by the city of Richmond from Emily C. Shores, one of William Cooke’s heirs, August 20, 1854. The deed was recorded August 16, 1854. DESCRIPTION: This cemetery contained sixty acres when purchased. The total number of interments including seventeen thousand Confederate soldiers, is approximately fifty-seven thousand. There is a large monument erected to the Confederate dead and near the entrance a bronze tablet commemorating them also. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The price paid for the land upon which Oakwood Cemetery is laid out was ten thousand dollars. The first interment here was a child by the name of Farmer who was buried July 19, 1855. Dahlgreen’s raid, according to Mr. Tucker, occurred on or near the site of the cemetery, at the time Dahlgreen was an officer in the Union Army. There are no famous persons buried in Oakwood, as far as can be learned from the records. A hospital located somewhere in the vicinity was destroyed during the evacuation and all records destroyed. Therefore those who might have had a place in history were buried among the rest of the Confederate dead listed as unknown. A few of the inscriptions are as follows: Robert R. (or B.) Smith born April 30, 1844 Killed at Drewry’s Bluff May 16, 1864 Corporal Co. A. 15th Virginia Infantry John R. Bradley born September 28, 1838 Killed at Drewry’s Bluff May 16, 1864 Lt. Co. A. 15th. Va. Inf. In the midst of a field of unmarked graves an iron grill encasement marks the resting place of: Lt. D. C. Stafford 8th S.C.V. Co. 1, July 23, 1864 In another spot I found a tombstone very hard to read but finally deciphered enough to construct the following: Samuel A. Daniel of the city of Richmond, Virginia Aged 32 He was wounded June 26, and died on the 29th., 1862. He was a distinguished member of the Purcell Battery and fell while gallantly defending the guns at Mechanicsville on the Chickahominy River. There is a large monument erected to honor those Confederate dead. The inscription is as follows: In memory of 16,000 Confederate soldiers from thirteen states. Erected by the ladies of Oakwood Memorial Association, organized May 10, 1866. The epitaph of the soldier who falls with his country, is written in the hearts of those who love the right and honor to be brave. Maryland, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. The bronze tablet near the entrance bears the following inscription: This ground is the last bivouac of 17,000 Confederate soldiers slain in defense of the South. In gratitude for their devotion the Commonwealth of Virginia by act of the Assembly of 1930, has provided perpetual care for their graves, a sacred trust which the city of Richmond recently accepted. SOURCES OF INFORMATION: Informant: Mr. R. Lynn Tucker, Oakwood Cemetery, caretaker. Tombstone Inscriptions Visit by worker. ___________________________________________________________________ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Joan Renfrow NOTICE: I have no relationship or further information in regards to this family. ___________________________________________________________________