Custer Lives!
Elizabethtown City Cemetery
In July 2009 I visited the Elizabethtown, Kentucky City Cemetery. It was quite easy to find and well marked. Parking is a short walk from the entrance and the information kiosk is right next to the parking. I was able to locate several graves and gather lots of information from the easy to use kiosk prior to entering. The Elizabethtown City Cemetery was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in August 1997 by the United States Department Of The Interior. The acreage for the cemetery was donated by Mr. Samuel Haycraft, Sr. who was a Revolutionary War soldier and a prominent miller in the area.
Several high profile local residents are buried here along with veterans of both the United States Of America and the Confederate States Of America armies. Some of the notables interred here are Mr. Samuel Haycraft, Jr. who was a state senator and friend of the Abraham Lincoln family. Mr. Haycraft was also a prominent lawyer, author, and clerk of the Hardin County and Circuit Courts. Henry E. Read, a member of the First and Second Confederate Congress, rests here. A section is dedicated to the Brown-Pusey family who provided the city of Elizabethtown with a long commitment to education and civic responsibility. I suggest you visit the kiosk to get the lowdown on the many other prominent townsfolk buried here! A cemetery pamphlet, available for free at the visitor center on the way into town, helps a great deal.
After gathering my needed information I started off to the cemetery entrance. As you approach, there are four Kentucky Historical Society markers posted. One is for the Bond-Washington School for Black students in 1869. Two are for the 1862 Confederate States of America’s Morgan’s Raiders attacks. The fourth was for three forts built in 1780 to protect against Indian attacks. The three forts became Elizabethtown. Pass the historical markers and you’ll see a tall time capsule that was established in 1979. The time capsule is scheduled to be opened in September 2079.
As I entered the cemetery I was very pleasantly surprised to see how well it was maintained. Well over two centuries old, established in 1806, everything is well manicured and cared for. The grass was green even though it was the hottest part of the summer. Not a single piece of trash was spotted. I made my way through the grounds, map and camera in tow. The printed map I had picked up at the Elizabethtown Visitors Center on the way into town was very helpful. The Confederate gravesites were much easier to spot, having Confederate battle flags placed on them. Union soldiers have the standard gravestone from their era. United States Black soldiers are buried in the upper portion of section M.
An artillery piece is stationed atop Cemetery Hill where four were used to fire on Elizabethtown in the Christmas-time December 1862 Morgan’s Raid. Two information boards explain the Civil War battle. The artillery was used to provide cover fire as the Union soldiers made their way into Elizabethtown. One of the cannonballs is still visible, lodged into a wall of a downtown business. It can be seen on the Downtown Self-guided Walking Tour and is where the Downtown Costumed Walking Tour begins.
Civil War buffs shouldn’t miss this little known gem.
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The Time Capsule near the cemetery entrance. |
The plaque at the cemetery entrance. |
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A handy kiosk next to the cemetery parking. |
The view from the kiosk area. |
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Some of the Confederate States of America veteran graves. |
A similar cannon was fired from near this spot into the town during Morgan's Raid in 1862. |
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Two United States of America soldier's lonely graves. These two Black veterans were what was then known as Colored Troops. |
A closer shot of the two Colored Infantry soldier graves. |
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