Confederate Cemetery, Pewee Valley
Pewee Valley, Oldham County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
CSA Cemetery. In burying ground 1 mile south, marked by granite obelisk, lie remains of 313 soldiers who died while residents of the Kentucky Confederate home. The home was located on the high ground just northwest of here. It was used for CSA veterans, 1902 to 1934. Dedicated June 3, 1963. For more information, see ExploreKYHistory: CSA Cemetery
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
A mile south, beneath a granite obelisk, lie 313 men who died as residents of the Kentucky Confederate Home. Established on nearby high ground, the home sheltered aging and infirm Confederate veterans from 1902 until 1934. Their graves gather in one place the last chapter of a generation that had fought for the South a half-century before.
Why it matters
The home and its cemetery reflect how the postwar South cared for its old soldiers and shaped the long memory of the "Lost Cause" well into the twentieth century.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
The Blockhouse
Shelby County, KY
During the Civil War, the border state of Kentucky was plagued by guerrilla bands and marauders who preyed on divided communities. In 1858 the townspeople built a small log blockhouse in the middle of the intersection, pierced with loopholes and manned whenever an alarm sounded. In August 1864 the guerrilla captain David "Black Dave" Martin tried to raid the courthouse for its stored guns, but townsmen drove him off, killing three raiders.
Civil War in Bardstown
Bardstown, KY
In October 1862, as Braxton Bragg's Confederate army withdrew eastward from Bardstown toward Harrodsburg, Terry's Texas Rangers under Col. John Wharton held the crossroads north of town to slow the pursuing Union Army of the Ohio. Vastly outnumbered, the Rangers formed into columns and charged, breaking the Federal lines and scattering the cavalry and infantry into confusion. The rear-guard victory bought Bragg's men time before the Rangers moved on to the great clash at Perryville.
Vest-Lindsey House
Frankfort, KY
Built before 1820, this Frankfort house sheltered two men who took opposite sides in the nation's greatest crisis. It was the childhood home of orator George Graham Vest, later a three-term U.S. senator from Missouri and a member of the Confederate Congress, and also home to Daniel W. Lindsey, a Union brigade commander who became Kentucky's adjutant general.
Crittenden House
Frankfort, KY
John Jordan Crittenden (1787-1863) lived in this Frankfort house for the last forty-four years of his life while serving as Kentucky governor, five-time U.S. Senator, and Attorney General under three presidents. In 1860 he authored the Crittenden Compromise, a last, futile effort to reconcile North and South and preserve the Union on the eve of the Civil War. The house, built in 1800 on land once owned by Aaron Burr, hosted Daniel Webster and President-elect Zachary Taylor.