Approaching this area from the main gate, the Confederate Obelisk provides an orienting landmark. The 65-foot monument, made of Stone Mountain granite, was dedicated in 1874 as a project of the Atlanta Ladies Memorial Association. For years it was the tallest structure in the city.
Marked military graves occupy a large central rectangle south of the Obelisk. Included are the headstones of 16 Union soldiers who died in local hospitals. Another area of marked Confederate graves lies along Oakland's southern wall. Northeast of the Obelisk, the unknowns are guarded by the "Lion of Atlanta." Modeled after the Swiss "Lion of Lucerne." The Lion was carved in 1894 from the largest block of marble quarried in Georgia up to that time. For the nameless soldiers, the dying lion rests on the flag they followed and "guards their dust," in the words of a commemorative poem.
To the northwest of the obelisk, three Confederate generals are buried: John Brown Gordon; Alfred Iverson, Jr.; Clement Anselm Evans. Generals Lucius Gartrell and William Stephen Walker are buried on family plots.
An annual memorial service takes place in this section on Confederate Memorial Day, April 26th.
From Oakland Cemetery website.
Approaching this area from the main gate, the Confederate Obelisk provides an orienting landmark. The 65-foot monument, made of Stone Mountain granite, was dedicated in 1874 as a project of the Atlanta Ladies Memorial Association. For years it was the tallest structure in the city.
Marked military graves occupy a large central rectangle south of the Obelisk. Included are the headstones of 16 Union soldiers who died in local hospitals. Another area of marked Confederate graves lies along Oakland's southern wall. Northeast of the Obelisk, the unknowns are guarded by the "Lion of Atlanta." Modeled after the Swiss "Lion of Lucerne." The Lion was carved in 1894 from the largest block of marble quarried in Georgia up to that time. For the nameless soldiers, the dying lion rests on the flag they followed and "guards their dust," in the words of a commemorative poem.
To the northwest of the obelisk, three Confederate generals are buried: John Brown Gordon; Alfred Iverson, Jr.; Clement Anselm Evans. Generals Lucius Gartrell and William Stephen Walker are buried on family plots.
An annual memorial service takes place in this section on Confederate Memorial Day, April 26th.
From Oakland Cemetery website.
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