The Camp of The Unknown Soldier

Do you ever stand before one of those anonymous graves and wonder, just who was this UKNOWN soldier?  We may ponder the heartbreak of his family when they knew, beyond all hope, that he was not coming back.  His mother perhaps sat on her porch every evening, for years, until her dying day, looking for her son.  You can almost feel the anxiety of a forlorn father whenever a person was seen walking over the horizon, as he wondered was that his boy or someone bringing sad news.  Many such families spent their remaining days comforted only by the hope of a reunion with their loved ones on the other side in that blessed land that knows no sorrow.  I have often stood by an UNKNOWN C.S.A. grave and wished that I knew more about this soldier "known but to God".  We can assume he served bravely and was hoping to return to the sanctuary of his home with dignity and honor.  Without a doubt, those who buried him and attended his funeral mourned not only for the passing of and UNKNOWN man but the passing of the South as they had known it.

Sep/Oct 2012 of The Georgia Confederate