Chattanooga Confederate Burials

			WATKINS' LIST OF SOLDIERS BURIED IN THE CONFEDERATE CEMETERY IN CHATTANOOGA
		In 1867 the bodies of 887 soldiers who died in Chattanooga Jan. 1 to May 31, 1863 (the weeks immediately following the battle of Murfreesboro), were moved from a cemetery close to the Tennessee River, where they had been temporarily interred, to the Confederate Cemetery. A board at the head of each grave was marked with the name of the soldier, his state and his command, and a number. Col. R. L. Watkins copied the names and prepared the following list. It is probable that when the headstones were hastily made—six or seven each day for four months—the names were frequently misspelled, in the case of difficult ones at least. This explanation accounts for the many peculiar and infrequent names on the list. Searchers for names should allow for variation in sound and spelling.
					Confederate Memorial
		Many of the wounded in the battle of Murfreesboro were sent to Chattanooga by train. Some of them died en route and others in the station immediately upon arrival. Homes and hospitals were filled with other soldiers who lingered, some a few days and some for months. Col. Watkins began his list with the number 142 and the date Feb. I, 1863. It is presumed that 141 men died in January and were buried in the very low ground where the water washed away the graves and the wooden boards, and that the names were not decipherable when he made his list in 1867. The last number "887" is dated May 31, 1863. The list bears this inscription: "Presented to the Confederate Memorial Association March 18, 1876, by R. L. Watkins, who assisted in obtaining this record in 1867 and participated in removing the dead to the graves where they now lie. This was when the Confederate Association was first organized. Each grave was numbered and named on headboard as this list shows and was easily identified. "R. L. Watkins."