Facts on the Oakwood Cemetery

Major Dates During the Creation of the Oakwood Cemetery

1866 Union troops which presided over the city of Raleigh ordered 2,800 Confederate soldiers buried near the Confederate Pettigrew Hospital to be dug up and moved so that a national cemetery could be established. Henry Mordecai donated approximately 2 acres of land to bury the soldiers. The Ladies Memorial Association of Wake County began putting the cemetery in order and it was decided that all of the Confederate graves needed to be decorated.

May 10, 1867 The Ladies Memeorial Association chose the anniversary of General Stonewell Jackson's death to decorate the graves. However, at that time, the city was still under martial law, and the Residential Union Army would not allow public observance of that day. The women were warned that if they attempted to make any sort of formal procession, they would be fired upon with no further warning. The Ladies were detemined, and they gathered in groups of two or three, each carrying her crosses and wreaths, and entered the cemetery. Each group was watched closely by a federal officer to make sure that no formal procession was formed.

1869 The Raleigh Cemetery Association bought land from Mordecai to create Oakwood Cemetery.

1912 Raleigh's Hebrew Cemetery, which was adjacent to Oakwood, formally became Oakwood's Hebrew section honors the Jewish soldiers in World War I and World War II.

1936 The United Daughters of the Confederacy erected a house of memory for those Confederate soldiers.

Read the story written by Megan Liddle
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This page created by Whitney Swink

1866	Union troops which presided over the city of Raleigh ordered 2,800 Confederate soldiers buried near the Confederate Pettigrew Hospital to be dug up and moved so that a national cemetery could be established. Henry Mordecai donated approximately 2 acres of land to bury the soldiers. The Ladies Memorial Association of Wake County began putting the cemetery in order and it was decided that all of the Confederate graves needed to be decorated.
May 10, 1867	The Ladies Memeorial Association chose the anniversary of General Stonewell Jackson's death to decorate the graves. However, at that time, the city was still under martial law, and the Residential Union Army would not allow public observance of that day. The women were warned that if they attempted to make any sort of formal procession, they would be fired upon with no further warning. The Ladies were detemined, and they gathered in groups of two or three, each carrying her crosses and wreaths, and entered the cemetery. Each group was watched closely by a federal officer to make sure that no formal procession was formed.
1869	The Raleigh Cemetery Association bought land from Mordecai to create Oakwood Cemetery.
1912	Raleigh's Hebrew Cemetery, which was adjacent to Oakwood, formally became Oakwood's Hebrew section honors the Jewish soldiers in World War I and World War II.
1936	The United Daughters of the Confederacy erected a house of memory for those Confederate soldiers.