The Oak Grove Cemetery, originally known as the Presbyterian Cemetery, is located on South Main Street in downtown Lexington,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, less than a mile from the campuses of

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

and the

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

. The cemetery was renamed in 1949 as the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery after the Confederate general, who was buried here in 1863. The current name dates to September 3, 2020. Also buried here are 144 Confederate veterans, two

Governors of Virginia A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, and Margaret Junkin Preston, the "Poet Laureate of the Confederacy".

Name

The cemetery was first known as the Presbyterian Cemetery. After the

Lexington Presbyterian Church Lexington Presbyterian Church is a historic Presbyterian church building at Main and Nelson Streets in Lexington, Virginia. It was designed by architect Thomas U. Walter in 1843, and completed in 1845. A rear addition was built in 1859; stucco ...

conveyed the cemetery to the city in 1949, the cemetery was renamed later that year for the

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

general

Stonewall Jackson Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, considered one of the best-known Confederate commanders, after Robert E. Lee. He played a prominent role in nearl ...

, who was interred there after his death on May 10, 1863. The Lexington City Council unanimously voted to rename the cemetery in 2020 following the

George Floyd protests The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internati ...

, and the renaming was unanimously approved on September 3.

Notable burials

Jackson and his family

The plot of Jackson and his family received a sculpture of Jackson in 1895, created by sculptor Edward V. Valentine. The plot includes graves of: * Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (1824–1863): VMI instructor, Confederate Army lieutenant general, commander of

Second Corps, Army of Northern Virginia The Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia was a military organization within the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during much of the American Civil War. It was officially created and named following the Battle of Sharpsburg in 1862, b ...

* Elinor Junkin Jackson (1825–1854): Jackson's first wife, died in childbirth; buried with their stillborn son * Mary Anna Morrison Jackson (1831–1915): Jackson's second wife * Thomas and Anna Morrison Jackson's two daughters: ** Mary Graham Jackson (infant – 1858) ** Julia Laura Jackson Christian (1862–1889) and her husband William Edmund Christian (1856–1936) * Thomas Jonathan Jackson Christian Sr. (1888–1952): William and Julia Christian's second child, U.S. Army brigadier general ** Cenotaph for his son Thomas Jonathan Jackson Christian Jr. (1915–1944), U.S. Army colonel, killed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

(believed buried at Faubourg-d'Amiens Cemetery,

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

, France)

Others

John White Brockenbrough John White Brockenbrough (December 23, 1806 – February 20, 1877) was a Virginia attorney, law professor, U.S. District Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, and Confederate States congressman and distri ...

(1806–1870): Federal judge, Confederate Congressman, founder of the

School of Law A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

at Washington College (now

) *

John Mercer Brooke John Mercer Brooke (December 18, 1826 – December 14, 1906) was an American sailor, engineer, scientist, and educator. He was instrumental in the creation of the Transatlantic Cable, and was a noted marine and military innovator. Early li ...

(1826–1906): Sailor, engineer, inventor, commander in the

Confederate States Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the Amer ...

Benjamin Darst Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thir ...

(1760–1835): Revolutionary War Soldier, noted Architect / Builder of Lexington Landmark Structures * John William Elrod (1939-2001): President, Washington and Lee University *

William Gilham William Henry Gilham (January 13, 1818 – November 16, 1872) was an American soldier, teacher, chemist, and author. A member of the faculty at Virginia Military Institute, in 1860, he wrote a military manual which was still in modern use 145 yea ...

(1818–1872): VMI instructor, Confederate Army colonel *

George Junkin Reverend George Junkin D.D., LL.D (November 1, 1790 – May 20, 1868) was an American educator and Presbyterian minister who served as the first and third president of Lafayette College and later as president of Miami University and Washington ...

(1790–1868), Presbyterian minister and educator, President of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University), father of Elinor Junkin Jackson *

Beverly Tucker Lacy Beverly or Beverley may refer to: Places Australia *Beverley, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Beverley, Western Australia, a town * Shire of Beverley, Western Australia Canada *Beverly, Alberta, a town that amalgamated with the City of ...

(1819–1900), Presbyterian minister, chaplain of Jackson's

Edwin Gray Lee Edwin Gray Lee (May 27, 1836 – August 24, 1870) was an American soldier from Virginia and a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War. He was a member of the Lee family and first cousin once removed of Robert E. Lee. Bio ...

(1836–1870): Confederate Army general, member of Jackson's staff *

John Letcher John Letcher (March 29, 1813January 26, 1884) was an American lawyer, journalist, and politician. He served as a Representative in the United States Congress, was the 34th Governor of Virginia during the American Civil War, and later served in ...

(1813–1884):

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

(1860–1864) * Charles McDowell, Jr. (1926–2010): Journalist, regular panelist on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

series ''

Washington Week in Review ''Washington Week''—previously ''Washington Week in Review''—is an American Public affairs programming, public affairs television program, which has aired on PBS and its predecessor, National Educational Television, since 1967. Unlike other p ...

'' *

James McDowell James McDowell (October 13, 1795 – August 24, 1851) was the 29th Governor of Virginia from 1843 to 1846 and was a U.S. Congressman from 1846 to 1851. Biography McDowell was born at "Cherry Grove," near Rockbridge County, Virginia, on ...

(1795–1851):

(1843–1846),

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

(1846–51) * Elisha Franklin Paxton (1828–1863): Confederate Army general, commander of the

Stonewall Brigade The Stonewall Brigade of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, was a famous combat unit in United States military history. It was trained and first led by General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, a professor from Virginia Military In ...

, killed at Chancellorsville * Alexander Swift "Sandie" Pendleton (1840–1864): Confederate Army lieutenant colonel, member of Jackson's,

Ewell Ewell ( , ) is a suburban area with a village centre in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, approximately south of central London and northeast of Epsom. In the 2011 Census, the settlement had a population of 34,872, a majority of wh ...

's and Early's staffs, killed at Fisher's Hill * William Nelson Pendleton (1809–1883): Episcopal priest, Confederate Army brigadier general, chief of artillery,

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most oft ...

, father of Sandie Pendleton *

John Thomas Lewis Preston John Thomas Lewis Preston (April 25, 1811 – July 15, 1890) was an American educator and military officer from Virginia. He was a primary founder and organizer of the Virginia Military Institute, and was one of its first two faculty members. ...

(1811–1890): Founder and organizer of

* Margaret Junkin Preston (1820–1897): Called unofficially "Poet Laureate of the Confederacy"; daughter of George Junkin *

Absalom Willis Robertson Absalom Willis Robertson (May 27, 1887 – November 1, 1971) was an American politician from Virginia who served over 50 years in public office. A member of the Democratic Party and lukewarm ally of the Byrd Organization led by fellow U.S. Senat ...

(1887–1971): U.S. Senator, father of evangelist

Pat Robertson Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is an American media mogul, religious broadcaster, political commentator, former presidential candidate, and former Southern Baptist minister. Robertson advocates a conservative Christian ...

* George R. E. Shell (1908–1996): Ninth superintendent of VMI, Marine Corps Brigadier General *

Scott Shipp Scott Shipp (also spelled Ship, born Charles Robert Scott Ship) (August 2, 1839 – December 4, 1917) was an American military figure, Confederate States Army officer, educator and educational administrator born in Warrenton, Virginia. He was the ...

(1839–1917): Commandant of the VMI Corps of Cadets at the

Battle of New Market The Battle of New Market was fought on May 15, 1864, in Virginia during the Valley Campaigns of 1864 in the American Civil War. A makeshift Confederate army of 4,100 men defeated the larger Army of the Shenandoah under Major General Franz Si ...

, second superintendent of VMI *

Francis Henney Smith Francis Henney Smith (October 18, 1812 – March 21, 1890) was an American military officer, mathematician and educator. After graduating from West Point and a brief service in the United States Army, he became the first Superintendent of the ...

(1812–1890): First superintendent of VMI, Confederate Army colonel, Virginia militia major general * William D. Washington (1833–1870): Painter, instructor at VMI * John Delane Wilson (1931-2013): President of

(1983-1995) and

Wells College Wells College is a private liberal arts college in Aurora, New York. The college has cross-enrollment with Cornell University and Ithaca College. For much of its history it was a women's college. Wells College is located in the Finger Lakes reg ...

(1969-1975); first Rhodes Scholar from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

and member of their national championship football teams

References

External links

* * {{GNIS, 1780314, Oak Grove Cemetery Cemeteries in Virginia Tourist attractions in Lexington, Virginia

Cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

Confederate States of America monuments and memorials in Virginia Confederate States of America cemeteries