Sansom Family Cemetery - Gadsden, AL - Alabama Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

County of marker: Etowah County
Location of marker: US 278 center median, @ cemetery, Gadsden
Marker erected: September 13, 1987
Marker erected by: The Forney District, United Daughters of the Confederacy

Marker text:
In this cemetery are buried members of the family of Emma Sansom heroine of the War Between the States, whose home was nearby.

Buried Here Are:     Micajah Sansom, father of Emma Sansom
    Mattie Forrest Johnson, Infant daughter of Emma Sansom
    Robert Turner, a Confederate soldier killed in the skirmish at Black Creek
    Aunt Fanny, a beloved Negro Mammy

It was May 2, 1863 that Colonel A. B. Streight, U.S.A., raced through Gadsden after having burned the bridge across Back Creek with General Nathan B. Forrest, C.S.A., close behind. Emma Sansom was standing on a rail fence watching the bridge burn when General Forrest rode up and inquired if there were other crossings over the creek which was flooded at the time.

Forrest carried a large amount of artillery and frequently dismounted his troops and fought them as an infantry unit, necessicating heavy wagon equipment. Miss Emma Sansom recalled that she had seen cows fording the creek nearby. She mounted behind General Forrest and piloted him and his anxious army down a ravine and across the creek, enabling them to save Gasden and Rome, Georgia from destruction and to capture Streight's 2,000 men with only 800 Confederates.

Emma Sansom married Christopher Johnson and moved to Little Mound, Texas where she is buried.

Marker Name: Sansom Family Cemetery Marker Type: Urban Addtional Information:: Sansom Cemetery is situated in the median of Meighan Blvd enclosed in a chain link fence and is well maintained. Emma Sansom High School and General Forrest Middle School are both directly across the road from the cemetery. Ralph & Louise Allred's 1963 survey stated that there were 4 or 5 slaves also buried in this cemetery, but there is no evidence of these burials now. Migajah Sansom is the father of Emma Sanson who helped General Forest find a way across Black Creek during the Civil War. Her statue is located next to the old Coosa River bridge on Broad Street in Gadsden, Alabama. Date Dedicated / Placed: September 13, 1987 Marker Number: Not listed

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