The City of Richmond has published a report detailing the results of a study conducted on its property at 2313 Wise Street, where the Department of Public Utilities operates a substation. The site is believed to have served as a cemetery for private citizens and deceased soldiers from local military hospitals during the Civil War.
The city commissioned TerraSearch, an independent geophysical surveying firm, to perform the study using non-invasive ground-penetrating radar. The findings revealed at least 742 potential unmarked graves on the property. Of these, 472 are classified as “probable” internments and 270 as “possible.” The report cautions that due to the dense burial pattern, these findings may not account for all potential graves. It also notes that graves might extend into adjacent lots to the north, west, and east.
Richmond is working with historians and state and local officials to develop an access plan for descendants of those interred and others interested in genealogical research. This plan will be announced on the City’s website once finalized.
The property at 2313 Wise Street has been under Richmond’s ownership since 1930. It houses a gas booster facility constructed in 1931 by the Department of Public Utilities. A memorial marker placed in 1939 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy honors “more than 100 South Carolina Soldiers” believed to be buried there after dying in a nearby hospital.
Historical documents indicate that starting in 1857, Manchester used this site as a cemetery, including wartime burials from 1861-1862. Despite some evidence from historical maps and documentation suggesting Confederate soldier burials occurred there, no definitive records exist confirming wartime burials or postwar removals. In light of this uncertainty, Richmond initiated the study to ascertain whether burial remains were present.
Read the full report.
