Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery - Sam Joseph

Walking around the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery this morning, a few things stuck out to me. The cemetery was wholly composed of gray and white tombstones, covered in grime and lichen, and every gravestone faced east.

This was my second time visiting the cemetery and I had never noticed that singular directionality before. I had never noticed that Stonewall Jackson faces south to a point of no egress. I had only faintly thought about the axes of access that lead to that central statuary.

I have always been more drawn to the individual narrative each site tells. Silver crosses designate confederate soldiers, circular placards designate fire fighters, and family names cluster around each other in plots throughout the grounds and amongst the trees. And I look to the shrine like nature of century old tombstones recently covered in flowers and wreaths.

I didn't realize the cemetery is still an active burial place, that it is always growing and changing, and there is a constant remembering of a past that directly connects to a modern Lexington and its families.

Stonewall Jackson - MP Welch

Overall, the cemetery seemed a bit unkempt. Fresh flowers indicated that people have visited recently, but the overall aesthetic suggested a lack of upkeep. For example, headstones are not lined up exactly. This seems to derive from the grounds overgrowing, rather than them initially being placed haphazardly. This first picture shows the lack of alignment.

Examining the differences between the headstones with writing facing the sky and those with writing facing a standing viewer illustrates some of what we learned about functionality and text size. I assume the headstone pictured below has larger text because its principal function is marking the grave site to help visitors locate it. On the other hand, the headstones shown above (and in the foreground below) have smaller writing, forcing the viewer to draw closer and have a more intimate relationship with the site. 

This picture also shows differences between older and newer headstones. The “Zollman” stone looks newer and of a more traditional design, whereas several obelisks and oddly shaped older stones are visible in the background. The picture below supports this by featuring an older stone that culminates in a subtle point. 

Lastly, our final picture shows a bench, or exedra, where visitors can stop and spend time in the memorial. The view from this bench (not pictured) is obstructed by a large tree, indicating further the overgrown nature of this cemetery.

Emily Roche- Stonewall Jackson Cemetery

A trip to the Stonewall Jackson Cemetery in Lexington, Virginia this morning had a very interesting impact on me.  As I think about how much thought was put into the layout of this cemetery, it makes me question the amount of thought that has been put into other historical landmarks in Lexington that I have passed by, not knowing their significance.  In fact, after making a stop at the war memorial down the street from the cemetery, I realized I had ate lunch right next to the memorial without even knowing it was there.  I was amazed at the amount of landmarks Lexington has to offer.

In relation to the cemetery itself, I found it very interesting the way that Stonewall Jackson was positioned in comparison to everything else.  The way that Stonewall Jackson is facing the south was also very interesting to me, as well as how there was no south entrance into the cemetery, as if to pay respect to Stonewall Jackson.  This location of the historical figure, as well as the structural designs (such as obelisks) of fallen soldier's tombstones, showed how the dead were at the center of their world, or the center of the cemetery in terms of Jackson.  Finally, it was also very interesting to see the amount of confederate flags placed at tombstones, as well as a good amount of American flags, showing the diversity of the cemetery, and how anyone could have been buried there.  The subtle diversity of the area really helped to unify all those buried there.

Cemetery Thoughts- Ralston Hartness

I thoroughly enjoyed our experience at the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery this morning. One thing that I found particular interesting was the directionality of the cemetery and what that suggested in terms of sacrality. Upon entering the cemetery, one's attention is drawn instinctively to Stonewall Jackson, as he stands tall as the axis mundi from every line of sight. Thus, it felt as if his position was the center and climax of the experience of memory and memorialization at that cemetery- as if he stood as the "holy of holies" in that place. However, upon arrival to his monument, I was confronted by the inherent paradox of monuments. I was drawn towards and attracted to this axis but faced by the reality that I could neither truly see nor access it. As I experienced this feeling, I took this photo of Stonewall-as-axis from eye level.

The viewer is drawn to Stonewall from every angle, yet upon arrival they are held at arms length from the thing which drew their attention. Thus, what stands as the most sacred among sacreds remains unattainable. It was at this point that I felt even more drawn to what was engraved on numerous headstones throughout the cemetery:

 "Sacred to the Memory of..." was etched as a banner across the top of numerous stones. Though this exploration feels circular and continuous, it is powerful to me that the small, rectangular headstones bear a proclamation of their sacrality in a way that Stonewall does not- it is only his foreboding prominence that draws the viewer into what feels to be powerful and monumental. However, the sacred declaration of these smaller headstones stands as a reminder of the pure sacrality of true memorialization. This is not as a contrast or counter to Jackson's position, but as a balance and leveling, and a reminder of the intense individuality of the cemetery that bears his namesake.

Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery - Annie Jeckovich

I found the orientation of Stonewall Jackson to be the most interesting. I arrived late to the cemetery, and walked in with Emily, so the access road was clear. We saw the profile on Stonewall Jackson’s statue, which immediately spiked my curiosity. My curiosity grew when I saw the road which Jackson faced was in fact a dead in, and the main access point came from the East. I pulled out the Compass app on my phone and determined that Jackson was pointing South West. There is obvious intention of orienting Jacksons this way, as Jackson will “never turn his back on the South”.

 In the Northern corner of the cemetery, I stumbled across two small gravestones, within the same family, with lambs resting atop of the tombstone. The markers were two children that perished. The lamb to be suggests a Christian element (Jesus, The Lamb of God). Someone in class pointed out the secularity of the cemetery, which I did not notice as the corner I chose to analyze had writings on the stones like, “Asleep with Jesus”.

Ian McDonald- Memorial

My first memory of visiting a memorial is from when I was 7 or 8 years old. My family had gone up to D.C. with my grandparents. We went and visited all of the typical D.C. tourist spots over the course of an extended weekend. On Monday, before we left to head home, we stopped by Uncle Robert's house. He's grandfather's brother. He lived right outside D.C., and we had planned on catching up with him before we went home.

He served in the Air Force during Vietnam. Since we were all up there, he wanted to take us to an air museum near his house. After that, we went to the Vietnam War Memorial. I remember not really understanding why it was so significant to him, or why so many people were there. It wasn't actually raining, but it was misty and damp out. I remember Uncle Robert rubbing the names of people he knew on a piece of paper with a pencil. I also remember my mom telling me that these were the names of people who had died. I tried to count them but ran out of time.

Andrew Taylor - Earliest Memory

My earliest memory of visiting a memorial was a short trip through Washington D.C with my dad in 7th grade. I had just finished a lacrosse tournament, and my Dad pointed out that D.C was on the path home to Atlanta. So, un-showered and still wearing my lacrosse cleats, my Dad and I walked through D.C in probably less than 2 hours. Three distinct memories first pop into my mind about the trip. We had parked fairly close to the Washington Monument to we naturally walked there first. My first memory was feeling overtaken by the massive structure that lay before me. I staring at the monument for probably 3-5 minutes without saying a word. I was merely taking in its vastness. My second memory was the tiring walk from the Washington Monument to what I think was the Lincoln memorial. Exhausted from the lacrosse tournament, we walked past a long water structure surrounded by stone or concrete walkways, which were very annoying to walk on considering I was still wearing my cleats. My third distinct memory is how angry my Dad was when we found out we had accidentally parked in a handicap parking spot. We didn't have the time (and I didn't have the energy) to see much more of Washington D.C, but the few memories I have of the memorials and monuments there were some of my first experiences with memorials.