CALEDONIA — The Caledonia Board of Aldermen tabled a request from Elisa Barnes Shizak concerning upkeep and maintenance of grave markers at Unity Cemetery.
Shizak, president of the United Daughters of the Confederacy chapter of Columbus, spoke before the board and Mayor George Gerhart Tuesday night.
She was requesting that UDC members as well as members of the local Caledonia Rifles Camp 2140 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans help locate graves in Unity Cemetery of those who served in the Confederate Army in Co. D, 24th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, known as the Caledonia Rifles. It was formed in Lowndes County in September 1861, and was part of Gen. Stephen D. Lee”s corps in the Army of Tennessee.
Shizak said some members of the company have headstones, but there are some without.
“We have made a list of these men who served in the Caledonia Rifles during the War Between the States. We want to identify who they are, and we want to provide headstones for those without. We want to help maintain their headstone markers, and the same for others buried in Unity Cemetery,” she said.
Shizak added it would not cost the city anything; all costs for upkeep of the markers would be left up to UDC members and members of the Caledonia Rifles SCV camp.
A motion was made by Alderman Mike Savage and seconded by Alderwoman Brenda Willis to take the matter under advisement.
Allen Baswell was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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