No Holier Spot of Ground: Confederate Memory in South Carolina’s Cemeteries, Monuments, and Museums

This exhibit tells South Carolina’s story of memorializing the Confederacy through establishing burial arrangements, monuments, and museums.

The shadow of loved ones lost during the war haunted thousands of households across America. In the Palmetto State alone, nearly 21,000 military men died out of the approximately 63,000 troops mustered into service. Each number within this astounding death total directly represents an individual whose life came to a tragically short end, leaving behind unfulfilled hopes and dreams. Likewise, it also represents the families whose worlds were instantly shattered. Never again would they feel the embrace, hear the laugh or experience the comfort of their loved one.

This exhibit will tell the story about how families and communities in South Carolina attempted to cope with this loss during the war, and how later generations continue these forms of commemoration.