Historic Oakwood Cemetery in downtown Raleigh invites the North Carolina Chapter to help setup their annual Lantern Walk around Halloween. During the evening event, guests have the opportunity to walk through a path of luminaries through the Confederate Memorial section and watch re-enactments of civil war life in the North Carolina. All proceeds of the event go towards restoration of the cemetery. Volunteering with the cemetery is a way to pay tribute to the soldiers that lost their lives in the Civil War, while learning some history about the war and the impact of agriculture during the war.
On October 27th, seven brothers traveled to Oakwood Cemetery at 2:00pm to set up for the event. On our arrival, we were notified that the Lantern walk was canceled due to poor weather. The group took an opportunity for a self-guided tour of the cemetery before a thunderstorm began. We enjoyed learning some fun facts about the cemetery. Oakwood Cemetery was established in 1869 and is Raleigh’s oldest, private, non-profit cemetery. The confederate cemetery is the original 2.5 acres of the cemetery and includes a House of Memory dedicated to North Carolina’s servicemen and women. Along with nearly 1500 confederate soldiers, the cemetery is also the final resting place for seven governors, five US senators, eight NC Supreme Court Chief Justices, two secretaries of the US Navy, many Raleigh mayors, NC State’s legendary basketball coach Jim Valvano, and many other well known figures.