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Just a note to let you know that the last year and a half of working with the Southern Soldiers Remembrance Fund has been great. As a Civil War Reenactor and amateur historian with the Washington Artillery Reenactors, it was great to have the opportunity to see proper recognition given to Civil War veterans.

I remember during my first visit to the Hollywood Cemetery you showed me the badly beaten gravestone of Lt. Isaac Brewer, Washington Artillery. I agreed to sponsor a new stone for Brewer, and then passed on the information about this project to the rest of the Washington Artillery. In a short time the Washington Artillery and individuals within the unit had sponsored grave markers for all of the Washington Artillery members buried at Hollywood. It is a great effort, and I believe all reenactor units should try to ensure that the original members of the units they represent have properly marked graves. Since that time I have located another member of the Washington Artillery in the Confederate Cemetery in Lynchburg, and will be working on proper recognition for Edward Loftis as well. The effort undertaken to place these markers has practical use for historians and genealogists, and supports the efforts and preservation of the Hollywood Cemetery, a national treasure.

At the same time I was busily engaged in family genealogy work with my aunt, now a spry 90 years young. The Southern Soldiers Remembrance Fund project gave me the opportunity to see to it that my Great, Great Granduncle Captain David Norvell Walker's grave in Hollywood Cemetery was also properly marked. The expense involved for sponsors in this project is minimal, as is the paperwork .

While doing all of this I have had the honor of meeting and dealing with you on multiple occasions; you are most certainly a "Southern Gentleman". All my best until next time.

When I moved to the Richmond area in late 2000, I had no knowledge at all of Hollywood Cemetery or Oakwood Cemetery, each holding many thousands of Confederate dead without markers. By good fortune, I ran across the SSRF and Bill Ward when researching the burial locations of 2 Confederate ancestors who died during the War. Bill & his associates found the final resting places for each and ably assisted in having markers provided for them. For these efforts alone my family and I will be eternally grateful.

Through friendship with Bill Ward & by supporting the SSRF, I have learned much more about the war-time hospitals & medical care in Richmond than I would have from any other source. Additionally, the personal stories of those men for whom the SSRF has provided markers present a powerful and poignant image of the daily life, concerns and epic courage of the common soldier in the Confederate army.

Bill Ward & the SSRF have been able, generous and devoted in efforts to have markers placed for the men who have lain in unmarked graves since as early as 1861. They are the only ones who have stepped forward and taken on this task and, for their work, we should be grateful for and supportive.

Mike Thomas

To my fellow Southern Heritage friends;

For years I had looked at my uncle’s “Family Tree Chart” with the haunting memo next to my Great Grandfather’s brother’s name, “William C. Faith, killed in the War Between the States.”

Finally, with some research, I located the name of his unit (Co E, 11th Alabama Infantry) and the fact he was killed in the battle of Gaine's Mill on 27 June, 1862. The records document, through letters, the year and a half struggle that William C. Faith’s father had to claim his son’s last 27 days of pay ($72) for June 1862, but no mention of a final burial location.

By my contacting Mr. Bill Ward at Southern Soldiers Remembrance Fund (SSRF), he and his associates were able to locate the graves of 6 men in 2nd LT William C. Faith’s company buried in Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery. These boys were all, or mostly, from Washington County, Alabama and died in Richmond hospitals (or at Gettysburg). Those who died on the battle field were not so fortunate as to have individual marked graves.

The installation costs for 6 headstones ($600) is reasonable enough today, even if it is over seven months pay for a 2nd LT in the Confederate Army in 1862. It is a small price to pay in dollars considering they paid with their lives.

My thanks and blessings go out to Mr. Ward for providing this unique service and maintaining a wonderful memorial site.

Ed White (W7KSX)
Capt. USNR (ret)
edusnr@aol.com

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Two years ago our re-enacting group wanted to replace the weather beaten war time marker of the 10th Louisiana's Lt. Col. John M. Leggett. I took on the responsibility of coordinating the fund raising for this and contacted Bill through an article I had read about him and the SSRF. We ended up raising enough money for three markers for 10th LA soldiers and I also asked another unit, the 21st Mississippi to sponsor a marker for Sgt. James McLaughlin of the 21st Miss., who was Canadian, which they were very glad to do. With Bill's help they were installed and we had a dedication ceremony with Pres. Davis (Jim Bazo of the 21st) in attendance, which was very moving to all of us.

Since then we have raised enough to mark all the remaining 28 graves of 10th Louisiana soldiers buried in Hollywood and also one for Wesley Culp of the 2nd Virginia Infantry. The cost of replacing or putting up a marker is very reasonable and we were able to do this through individual sponsors, group sponsors, book sale, and a pot luck dinner at a re-enactment with our group. We would be very excited each time we achieved enough for a new marker. I never dreamed we would be able to raise enough money to do all the markers we did and found it most rewarding when done. Some of us will be travelling down from Canada in October to dedicate these marker and are looking forward to reconnecting with you Bill.

Bill, I would like to thank you for all the assistance you have given us and all the leg-work you have done through the years, without you this worthwhile project would never have happened. I applaud your dedication and hope one day all the soldiers buried in Hollywood will have their names etched in stone. They deserve to have their names known along with their place in history.

We are the largest re-enactment group in Canada and consist of Confederate, Union, Artillery, Medical Units as well as a Civilian group. We as re-enactors try to do the best we can in our portrayal of the men and women or this period in history. We will never really know the horrors they went through but we try to tell their story as best we can. As we are Canadians, our group is dedicated to educating the public of Canada's involvement in the Civil War, which is a rich history that not many know about. Giving back to these men has been very important and rewarding for us. It is also something that other units should consider to help preserve history for without these markers, these men would simple be forgotten and they deserve better.

A few thoughts regarding my involvement with your program of sponsoring markers for Hollywood Cemetery. My involvement started many years ago while on vacation to Virginia where my oldest son went to Virginia Tech. We visited many Civil War sites and the most impressive was Lee Chapel on the grounds of Washington & Lee University. My visit started a life long dedication to the Southern Soldiers as I followed my visit with much research of the War and especially Robert Edward Lee, a true American hero. Followed by a trip to Richmond and Hollywood Cemetery and a tour of the City of Richmond. Its amazing that things such as states rights are items of concern in 2008.

It is an honor to be involved in the marker program, as I feel the Confederate Soldiers have not received the honor they deserve. And Bill Ward, I really feel my thoughts mirror your words in "I Stroll the Hills of Hollywood". Make no mistake, your contributions and unending dedication to the cause are appreciated by a whole lot of people. Please keep up your good work and feel free to include me in future involvement with the SSRF.

As a member of the 14th OVI/3rd Arkansas reenacting unit, it has been our honor and privilege to work with you and your folks on this Grave project. It has been very satisfying to be able to help honor the men of the 3rd Arkansas buried in Hollywood Cemetery. We have done at least 10 stones over the past several years. Each project has been very professionally and quickly handled on your end with you providing updates each step of the way. I particularly enjoy the website and the excellent pictures so we can enjoy seeing the finished project. On my next trip to the area I will certainly look you up for a tour!

WHY I SUPPORT THE SOUTHERN SOLDIERS REMEMBRANCE FUND – by John Henry Taylor

Years ago, I became acutely aware of the conspicuous absence of grave markers for the thousands of Confederate Soldiers buried in the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. Having visited many national military cemeteries and always being impressed with the beautiful and orderly stones that marked the final resting places of our nation's soldiers, I could not understand how, in Richmond, Virginia, a cemetery could exist as the final resting place of those Confederate Heroes who had fallen for our sake, and not even a tombstone to mark their passing and sacrifice. As a descendant of many Confederate Soldiers, I felt an obligation and a duty to right this injustice. Thank God for the Southern Soldiers Remembrance Fund. This organization made it easy for me to answer the call and right the wrong. Every time my wife and I can save up enough money to fund a stone for one of these forgotten soldiers and I see the stone actually installed, I get the satisfaction of yet another debt paid. It is the right thing to do.