A grave discovery

Oak ruins. Photo Jennifer Weber 2010Several weeks ago two of my daughters accompanied me to Camden ... a sleepy southern town settled in 1730. It has the distinction of being the oldest inland city in South Carolina.

Camden has a rich Revolutionary War history. George Washington is known to have stood, for example, beneath what is now known as the "Camden Oak."

Or what's left of it.

Across a little paved street from the oak is a small cemetery with perhaps thirty graves. Alongside it is a monument of sorts to Revolutionary War heroes, consisting of about twenty more graves.

Agnes of Glasgow is buried there, her grave decorated with a sign telling of her pursuit of her lover from Scotland to South Carolina. Agnes became ill and died at the age of twenty.

Sparrow and Turner.

Lore has it that her ghost roams the still fields of Camden at night (natch), searching for her beloved.

Within the cemetery is an interesting oblong-shaped concrete and wrought-iron structure labeled the Southwest Redoubt. The sign leads the reader to believe that the redoubt was a fortification of sorts for the protection of Camden.

Helpful signage. Photo Jennifer Weber 2010

The place is serene, as cemeteries tend to be.

At two edges of the graveyard and surrounding ground is a thick, lush stand of bamboo.

The bamboo is an unexpected sight. One expects to see magnolia trees, wisteria, confederate jasmine, flowering cherry and dogwood ... not bamboo.

Redoubt detail. Photo Jennifer Weber 2010

And yet there it is ... tall, graceful, the most tender shade of green. The stalks rustle as they sway in breezes gentle as a mother's caress, bringing to mind the long-ago swish of petticoats.

At the end of the street is the beautiful Quaker Cemetery.

I could wander the lanes for hours, just reading the names.

The burying ground is bursting with wrought-iron enclosures and ornate gates opening onto carefully-kept plots and cool granite headstones.

Although I have been to the Quaker Cemetery several times, this was the first time I remembered to take my camera along.

And although I'm sure I've seen these two graves before, this was the first time I noticed them.

Sparrow and Turner.

Pirates remain? Photo Jennifer Weber 2010

Captain Jack Sparrow? Will Turner? 

I don't know, because I didn't investigate the fronts of the grave markers.

What say you?

Comments

[Mari]

Hmmm - very interesting! What's the chances of those names right next to each other?

[rosezilla]

Oh, well naturally. What else could it be? :)

[Stephanie]

Sounds like a place I'd love to visit.