It is known as the Old Soldiers Burying Ground, a link to the role Weldon played in the Civil War.

A headstone bears witness to the Confederate Civil War dead at the Old Soldiers Burying Ground in Weldon.(Todd Wetherington/Daily Herald) Advertisement

One-hundred-fifty Confederate soldiers are buried there, soldiers who died in a makeshift hospital after being transported here by rail.

It is a little known piece of Roanoke Valley and Civil War history, says Martha Deaton, president of the Roanoke Rapids chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, caretakers of the cemetery owned by the state UDC. “It’s a little jewel hidden all these years.”

The cemetery, located at the end of First Street, was dying itself, smothered by some 30 years of neglect, trash and weeds.

Its upkeep was encouraged through newspaper articles dating back to 1896. There were early efforts in the 1920s to keep the cemetery in good shape but by the 60s or 70s, it was back in bad condition, Deaton explained.

Now the cemetery is ready for another debut, most likely a ceremony set for the spring and efforts are under way to plan for some kind of memorial marker to honor the memory of the 150 soldiers whose names are thought to be those on a list from the hospital discovered at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

These soldiers came from all over the South — Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina and other areas. “They were brought in by railroad to the hospital. When they passed away they were carried to the Old Soldiers Burying Ground. Some where brought in from the battle of Plymouth. There were boot camps in Northampton County,” Deaton said.

Most of the men died from disease, Deaton said.

Readying the cemetery for a public ceremony took a concerted effort between the UDC and the local Sons of Confederate Veterans Gen. Matt W. Ransom Camp, Deaton said.

Clean-up work began in 2004.

The cemetery was a bed of trash, weeds and even snakes, snakes which could still be seen in January.

“I would say that it’s finally getting to the point to honor these dead soldiers, that we can honor their efforts for the Confederacy,” said Ken Odom, a member of the Matt Ransom Camp and a surveyor.

Odom and Deaton are appreciative of the help long-time Northampton County resident Henry Moncure gave in getting the cemetery back in shape. “Thanks to him, if he hadn’t offered his help, that would have probably drug it out for a few more years,” Odom said.

“Mr. Moncure was the icing on the cake,” Deaton said. “He asked permission if he could go in with the removal of stumps and trash. He cleaned down to the street and to the Canal Trail.”

Moncure said, “I felt a moral obligation to clean it up and get rid of the leaves, weeds and stumps.”

There was about 2-1/2 inches of leaves covering the ground, Moncure recalled. The leaves were raked with a light tractor and he and his workers seeded the cemetery with rye grass and fescue.

Moncure is hopeful that once a marker is erected with the names of those presumed dead on it, it will bring forth their descendants and spark more interest in the cemetery. “I think it’s well known among locals and with Civil War buffs and reenactors,” Odom said. “Most of the general public doesn’t have an interest in that aspect of history or wouldn’t care or pay attention.”