Shelby Springs Confederate Cemetery - Calera, AL - Worldwide Cemeteries on Waymarking.com

Shelby Springs Confederate Cemetery sits atop the hill behind the Old Shelby Springs Hotel which was used as a Confederate hospital during the Civil War. It is officially known as The Shelby Springs Confederate Cemetery, but it was commonly referred to as The Old Soldier’s Graveyard.

Shelby Springs was originally a resort known for its mineral springs. Shelby Springs was reborn as Camp Winn in 1862, when the resort was taken over by the Confederacy in the Civil War. Initially, the resort was used a recruiting center and training camp. In the latter part of the war, the Confederacy transformed Shelby Springs into a hospital. Several nuns from the Sisters of Mercy were among the staff that managed the hospital. The nuns were originally from Boston, but were sent to Vicksburg, Miss., in 1860 to establish a Catholic school. After the Civil War began, the nuns ministered to sick and injured soldiers at several hospitals in Mississippi before making their way to Shelby Springs. When Shelby Springs was first converted to a hospital in 1863, it was used as a long-term facility to rehabilitate soldiers. By early 1864, however, Shelby Springs was made a general hospital and housed a large staff of medical personnel.

Soldiers aren’t the only people buried in the cemetery. Located on the far end of the property is a community cemetery, where burials for local citizens took place until 1921.

Currently, there are 95 identified soldier’s graves in the cemetery and 212 graves marked with a headstone that reads, “Unknown Soldier, C.S.A.” Sonar testing was used to locate remains beneath the soil and pinpoint actual graves, but determining exactly who is buried in each location is nearly impossible.

City, Town, or Parish / State / Country: Not listed Approximate number of graves: Not listed Cemetery Status: Not listed Cemetery Website: Not listed

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