Wine and Cheese in the Cemetery
and a Civil War Scavenger Hunt

Saturday evening, November 6th, Mount Holly Cemetery came alive with spirits, but not the kind that they are most known for. The General T. J. Churchill Chapter #1373, Little Rock, hosted the event as a fundraiser for their upcoming 100th Anniversary. The fun event was attended by 62 guests. The prized “golden shovel” award was awarded to the team of misfits who outsmarted and cheated their way to finding the most answers with the clues provided.

Upon arrival guests were treated to a wide array of wines, hors d’ oeuvres and selected cheeses served by members Sharon Gaskin and Sherrell Snodgrass.

Those guests wishing to participate in the Civil War Scavenger Hunt were given a “test” by Kay Tatum, Chapter President, to indicate whether or not they were qualified to be a Team Captain. Questions were asked in a playful manner much to the delight of the audience. Teams were equipped with flashlights, a shovel, a cemetery guide and finally the questionnaire in which the clues were given to locate each grave site.

Six different teams scoured the circa 1843 cemetery for clues and answers to some 10 questions all pertaining to Civil War history. Four Confederate General’s buried at Mount Holly were featured in the hunt as well as Arkansas Boy Martyr of the Confederacy, David Owen Dodd, who was hanged at the age of 17 as a Confederate spy. Five other grave-side visits completed the hunt.

Mount Holly Cemetery is the final resting place of 175 soldiers from the Civil War. 160 of those graves are Confederate soldiers while 15 are those of Union soldiers. Omer Weaver was the first Confederate casualty from Little Rock. He died August 10th 1861 and was interred at Mount Holly.

In 1884 some 640 Confederate graves were removed from Mount Holly and re-interred in a mass grave at Oakland-Fraternal Cemetery, also in Little Rock. In 1913 the 11 acre Confederate plot was deeded to the National Cemetery.