Why isn't the Confederate cemetery by UTC's campus kept in better shape?
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By Ian-Alijah Bey
A headstone next to broken grave markers at the Confederate cemetery between E. 3rd St. and UTC’s campus.
There are actually two cemeteries, side by side, between the northern edge of UTC’s campus and E. 3rd street. The smaller of the two, which is kept in good condition, belongs to Mizpah, a nearby Jewish congregation. But the larger cemetery, which is about two acres in size, has unmowed grass, fallen trees, and moss-covered and broken tombstones. This cemetery was created following the Battle of Chattanooga in 1863 for fallen Confederate soldiers, and it includes a mass grave site for unidentified Confederate soldiers. Descendants of Confederate soldiers are also buried there.
The cemetery is now managed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a volunteer-based lineage society with a local chapter, but it was originally owned by private individuals who served as trustees of the land. In 1942, when the last local veterans died, the City of Chattanooga became a trustee alongside the Sons of Confederate Veterans. This partnership lasted until 2018, when former Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke asked that the city be removed as a trustee.
"While we honor our dead, we do not honor the principle for which they fought,” Berke said in a statement at the time.
Through a court petition, the City of Chattanooga transferred full responsibility for the Chattanooga Confederate Cemetery to the Sons of Confederate Veterans, who are responsible for maintenance and upkeep today.
"If this cemetery serves us a purpose, it is to generate conversation," local historian Linda Moss Mines told Chattamatters. "We are way too divided... if we could talk through issues, we could all see that we are all very much the same."
Email any questions or comments to ian-alijah@chattamatters.com.