Hood County Texas: C.S.A. Veterans & Southern Cross of Honor Symbol

Recently I was able to locate gravestones of thirteen Civil War veterans buried in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Hood County, near Tolar, Texas. According to the Hood County Texas Genealogical Society website there are at least fifteen brave men laid to rest in this north Texas cemetery.

Terry Thornton of The Association of Graveyard Rabbits asked me to be on the lookout for the use of the Southern Cross of Honor symbol as he is interested in how various members of the United Confederate Veterans used that symbol in our Texas cemeteries. Terry's post, "Grave Marker Symbols: The Southern Cross of Honor and UCV ," gives a brief description and examples of the Southern Cross of Honor symbol often found on grave markers in the United States.

I was surprised to find so many at Mount Pleasant did not have their Civil War service memorialized with the Confederate Southern Cross. There were some, but the majority of the number I picture here had no mention of their service at all. There are at least two others listed at the Hood County Texas Genealogical Society, researched by Virginia Hale, that I have not located as yet. When and if I do, I will update this post.

BELT

William H. Belt

PVT CO C 24 TENN INF
Confederate States Army
1829 - 1904

W. H. Belt also is found on the hand carved limestone marker pictured below.

W. H. & S. H. Belt
Father and Son
Gone but not forgotten.
(If there were dates or other information on the marker, it was unreadable.)

CASEY

Aaron A. Casey
CO I
19 MISS. INF
C. S. A.

EDDLEMAN

David Eddleman
CO. C
10 TEX. INF.
(Born 03/10/1845 - Died 08/22/1918)

GIFFORD

Levi Gifford
Born Apr. 9, 1839
Died Nov. 1, 1916

Martha Gifford
Born Jan. 2, 1841
Died Nov. 25, 1916
"Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal."

There is a Freemason symbol at the top of grave marker but no indication of his Civil War service.

HARGROVE

J. H. Hargrove
July 18, 1847
Apr. 27, 1932
"At Rest"

KINSON

E. A. Kinson
Born
July 4, 1835
Died
June 7, 1922
"Gone to rest."

LEWIS

Z. Lewis
Born
Nov. 28, 1843
Died
Mar. 27, 1916
Aged 72 yrs. 4 mo., 4 days
"Remember as you pass by, that you must die as well as I."

MITCHELL

J. S. Mitchell
Jan. 20, 1833
Feb. 7, 1905

McINROE

James D. McInroe
Feb. 8, 1847
Nov. 6, 1917

PERRY

F. M. Perry
Born
Dec. 15, 1839
Died
Mar. 5, 1916

"Dearest darling, do not weep
When in the lonely grave I sleep."

SNIDER

E. H. Snider
PVT.
31 VA. INF. C. S. A.
Aug. 24, 1841 - Nov. 24, 1917

SWAIM

T. J. Swaim
Nov. 17, 1844
Nov. 25, 1922
"Gone but not forgotten."

(Freemason symbol at top of marker.)

TIDWELL

Dallas Tidwell
CO. A
GOOD'S TEX. CAV.
C. S. A.
June 13, 1845
Jan. 3, 1913

Sources:
Hood County Texas Genealogical Society
Terry Thornton's Graveyard Rabbit of the Hill Country
Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Tolar, Hood County, Texas

All photographs taken by Judith Richards Shubert
of these Confederate States of America (C. S. A.) veterans
at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Tolar, Hood Co., Texas Copyright 2008