Thursday, October 22, 2009

Where's the Wreath? - Cemetery Edition

One reason why I enjoy living near Fort Leavenworth is because of the historic significance of the post.





The Santa Fe and Oregon Trails ran right through the fort. The large rut in this hillside was made from all of the horses and wagons heading west.



We are on post every Wednesday for our running club, which also affords the kids a little time to play.



One of the best kept secrets on Fort Leavenworth is the prisoner’s cemetery. The cemetery is located deep in the woods near the back of the post.



It holds the graves of soldiers who died while serving prison time. The graves go back a long time.



In the back of the cemetery is a row of 14 graves separated from the rest. Those graves hold the remains of 14 German POW’s from WWII who committed crimes while in captivity, were sentenced, and were either executed or died in prison. Their graves are tended to by a German national who lives in the area.

It’s just one of those little known historical facts you find when exploring the post.

So, where are the wreaths?

5 comments:

CrossView said...

Wow! Cool living history! We'd love to tour the area....

Jedijson said...

I love really, really old cemeteries. The history that they have can be so interesting! I wonder what Sidney Williams died of, considering how young he was when he died...?

Kathleen said...

Love that first picture with the river in the background. Oh and the cemetery picture. And what an interesting fact about the wagon rut.

Kellie said...

Very cool! Are you near KC? We get out there every now and then. Big D's parents are from there (his Dad was a KU grad), but ever since all of his grandparents died a few years ago, we haven't been back. I want to take the kids to that area again because they don't remember their visits that well.

Most of our old cemeteries areound here are Civil War era. I looooooove poking around them!

TobyBo said...

Sidney's grave marker has made me sad all day.