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Ah,
Colonial Park Cemetery! Definitely one of the highlights of my trip
to Savannah. What a marvelously morbid place. I first heard about it
on an episode of "The Scariest Places On Earth" — an
episode which discusses a mythical man-beast named René who had
supposedly been imprisoned at the Cemetery and had been accused of killing
a couple of children whose corpses wound up at the site. Unfortunately,
after discussing this story with local historians, it appears that it
was a figment of a feverish network imagination, with no real basis
in fact. Pity...
However,
what I did find out about Colonial Park Cemetery definitely places it
high on the morbidity scale:
- Colonial
Park Cemetery is either Savannah's oldest or second oldest cemetery
(depending on the source), founded in 1750 and used as a burial ground
until the 1850's
- Colonial
Park Cemetery is the final resting spot for over 700 victims of the
1820 Yellow Fever epidemic
- Colonial
Park Cemetery was the site of numerous fatal duels [Elizabeth writes
to correct me on this one: "First of all you should know, that
contrary to what tour guides tell you, there were NO duels, fatal
or otherwise, fought in or even near Colonial Cemetery. The duelists
buried in the cemetery (there are only a few) did their duelling elsewhere.
One popular spot was on Hutchinson Island. There were also a few at
Tybee Island. The duel between Button Gwinnett and Lachlan McIntosh
was fought a few miles from town on what is now Wheaton Street at
a place known as Governor Wright's meadow." Oops... my bad.]
- Colonial
Park Cemetery is the resting place of many notable Georgia citizens,
including 5 governors and several Revolutionary War soldiers
- Colonial
Park Cemetery was used as a campground by General Sherman's Soldiers
during the Civil War
And
Colonial Park Cemetery is just a damned cool place to take a short stroll
and ponder the long night of the soul... or, you know, how many licks
it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop... or whatever else you
feel like pondering. Without further ado...
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This
is the lavish front entrance to the Cemetery, which was erected
by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1913 in memory
of the Patriots of the Revolutionary War. (Hence the 'D.A.R.'
in the center - kinda self-serving, don't you think? Shouldn't
it say 'C.P.C.' for Colonial Park Cemetery, or something? Some
people...)
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This
is a nice view of the Cemetery as you enter through the front
gate. It was an overcast, rainy day when we were there but you
can still grasp the pastoral beauty of the site.
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You
may have noticed the oddly shaped crypt to the left of the path
in the previous picture. Well, so did I. I found these crypts
to be positively strange, and even stranger still when their unique
shape was explained by our Ghost Tour docent a couple of nights
later. You see, these crypts were built in the shape of a bed
(with the headboard to the right), to imply everlasting rest.
The funny thing is that typically each of these crypts held an
entire family - buried one on top of the other. It must be hard
to get much rest under those circumstances!
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(Death's
Head Detail)
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I
fell instantly in love with this 'Death's Head' tombstone. I
wish we had them like this in California!
HERE
lies interrd the
Body of Doct. Samuel
Vickers who departed
this Life Octo. the 15th
Anno Domini 1785. In
the XXX Year of his Age ~~~~~~~
HE
Was born in New Brunswick
and
Received the honours of the
College at Princeton in N. Jersey.
This
Monument is erected to his Me
mory by his affectionte Brother. TLV
So,
I have to wonder — do you suppose that the 'XXX' is Roman
Numerals for 30... or do you think that they forgot to put the
year in? Or maybe TLV got a bargain on a "slightly used"
headstone and had to make do? Oh, the great mysteries of life...
er, death!
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I
fell absolutely in love with this flowering tree - as you'll see
in several other shots. Yes, variety is not my strong suit...
But, isn't it lovely? [Elizabeth writes to enlighten me: "The
lovely trees that bloom in the cemetery are Crepe Myrtles, some
of which are well over a 100 years old. "]
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Look
- there it is again, enshrouding a gravestone...
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There
were a number of old gravestones attached to a brick wall at the
back of the cemetery. Though it seems a bit sad to see them there,
instead of atop the bones where they belong, at least they are
being well-preserved... Why, you might ask, are they back there?
Well, when General Sherman's troops were occupying the cemetery,
they broke off or removed many of the tombstones to make room
for their tents. So, now, the graves are no longer marked and
the stones are back here against the wall. Now, Savannah has like
20 or something open squares - why did they have to choose the
cemetery to make their camp? I guess that's where Black Sabbath
got the inspiration for the title "War Pigs"...
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Here's
one of the more poignant stones against the wall — tribute
to a lost child and wife:
This
Stone
The humble monument of Parental love
covers the Grave of
ANN JOHNSTON DRYSDALE
the Daughter of
John and Ann Drysdale
who departed this life
on the 10th day of March
A. D. 1819
in the 10th year of her age
'Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven'
And
now this stone
which covers the ashes of the Child
of John Drysdale
holds also the body of her Mother his wife
who departed this mortal life to enter upon
one of immortality in the bosom of her
Father and her God
on the 1st day of November in the year
of our Lord one thousand eight hundred
and twenty.
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Here's
another unique and poignant stone on the wall. It's kind of
eroded in spots, but I think this is sort of what it says:
In
Memory of
JACOB R. TAYLOR
Son of
John P. Taylor of Philadelphia
a youth of exemplary department
conciliating manners and flauering promise
who in the 19th year of his age
when unarmed and peaceably walking the streets of
Savannah
was on the evening of the 11th of November 1811
attacked and inhumanly decimated [?]
by an armed band [?]
belonging to the crews of the French Privateers
La Vengeance and La Franchise
Rest
infinite youth far from thy friends inurnd
By strangers honourd and by strangers mournd
Though thy lone turf no kindred drops can lave
Yet virtue hallows with her tears thy grave
I
did a search on this one on the internet to see if I could find
an accurate transcription of the gravestone and I found this
historic chronicle which explains the circumstances of Jacob's
demise rather well...
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Isn't
this one nice? The skull and crossbones theme is another that
I miss in modern cemeteries...
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Another
nice view of the wall...
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I
found the unique stone and the nice tree etching on this one
quite captivating:
In
Memory of
LEVI
WRIST,
who died
Feb. 23, 1819,
in the 35 Year
of his Age.
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Another
interesting epitaph:
In
memory of
DAVID FRINK Jun.
aged 25 years Son of
DAVID & DEZIRE FRINK
of New London Connec.
who was drowned in Sa
vannah River on the [???]
Nov. 1816 [?] his body was fo-
und and here intered by
the Citizens of Savannah
whose quention [?] will ever
be remembered with gra
titude by his Parents and...
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Another
lovely tree...
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Another
view...
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Look,
it's the grave of Captain Driscoll! Ummm.... I don't actually
remember why I took this shot. The stone is so unremarkable,
I think it must be because Capt. Driscoll was somebody historic
or something... but damned if I can remember. Any ideas, anyone?
Anyway, here's what the plain epitaph says:
J.
H. S.
Here
are deposited
the remains of
Capt. LAWRENCE
DRISCOLL
who departed this
Life on the 21 of April
1810. Aged 47 Years.
He was a native of Ireland.
This
monument is erected by his
disconsolate Widow Margaret
Driscoll in testimony of ...
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One
last view of Colonial Park Cemetery - a lovely little slice of
morbid history!
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