Looking for more from Sean McLachlan? He also hangs out on the Midlist Writer blog, where he talks about writing, adventure travel, caving, and everything else he gets up to. He also reproduces all the posts from Civil War Horror, so drop on by!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Civil War Photo Friday: Confederate veterans

This week's image comes from Higginsville, Missouri, site of a retirement home for Confederate veterans opened in 1891. More than 1,600 former soldiers and their families lived there and the last one didn't die until 1950. John T. Graves was a veteran of General J.O. Shelby's Iron Brigade, the best cavalry raiders west of the Mississippi.

This photo was taken in the 1930s, I believe. It would have been amazing to talk to some of these old guys and hear their stories.

You can read more about Higginsville in my post Remembering the Confederate Dead.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Sean,
    Fascinating photo. Even though you can't talk to the old vets, I wonder if the records from the hospital are available somewhere.
    Oh, and I read your interview with Dianna Graveman in the MWG newsletter. Great job!
    Donna

    ReplyDelete
  2. When I first went there back in the mid Nineties I heard some of the workers were still alive, themselves now in a retirement home. I wonder if anyone has done oral histories with them?
    I noticed I wasn't alone in that issue!

    ReplyDelete

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