We stopped at Higginsville, Mo., today to see the Missouri Confederate Memorial. This was the first grave I noticed.
I took the picture for the inscription and a bit later the dates sank in. He died in 1950?! John Thomas Graves was the oldest Confederate veteran in the United States when he died at age 108. He was also the last veteran to reside in the Confederate Veterans Home at Higginsville. At his death, the state moved the remaining residents -- four widows of Confederate veterans -- to other nursing homes and closed the facility.
Joseph O. Shelby, the head of the Iron Brigade, is buried at Kansas City. I've since learned that William C. Quantrill is buried at Higginsville, or at least an arm and shinbone are. We walked through the cemetery but didn't go to the western edges, so we missed Quantrill's grave.
Joseph O. Shelby, the head of the Iron Brigade, is buried at Kansas City. I've since learned that William C. Quantrill is buried at Higginsville, or at least an arm and shinbone are. We walked through the cemetery but didn't go to the western edges, so we missed Quantrill's grave.
