Southern Graves

More than fifty photos from Snellville Historical Cemetery are now online. This cemetery is located in Gwinnett County, Georgia. You may view the photos individually via the album online here . Surnames include the following: Barnett, Biffle, Biggers, Brownlee, Cofer, Donaldson, Greer, Gresham, Haney, Holmes, Johnson, Lanford, Magill, McQueen, Pate, Pratt, Rawlins, Rollison, Sawyer, Smith, Snell, Watkins, Wiley, Williams, and Worthy.

In a cemetery, it's usually easy to tell with a glance which side a soldier served during the Civil War. Union soldiers have a recessed shield with raised lettering, and Confederate soldiers have a Southern Cross of Honor etched above their names. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs states it this way: "There are specific styles of upright marble headstones to mark the graves of Civil War Union soldiers and Spanish-American War dead. These historical styles...are inscribed in raised lettering inside a recessed shield...The inscription on the recessed-shield headstone is limited. For Civil War Union and Spanish American War, a shield is inscribed which encompasses the arched name and abbreviated military organization. Because of the special design and historical uniform significance, no emblem of belief or additional inscription may be inscribed. The dates of birth and death are inscribed below the shield." "A special style is also available to mark the grave...