Just a short distance from Morgan’s Grove Park is Elmwood Cemetery, just outside the historic town of Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The cemetery is a worthy visit on the Civil War Trail, as it holds a Confederate Cemetery and a memorial to the men who died in Shepherdstown after the Battle of Antietam, who crossed the river in Maryland after the battle. It isn’t a big cemetery, whereas in Antietam, the graves never seem to stop.
There isn’t a lot of parking at the cemetery, so we chose to park at the Shepherdstown Library and take the footpath through the weeds behind it to Lowe Drive, a quiet road where an old hotel is now apartments and a few homes.
That’s right. Almost Heaven is a parking lot. Lol.
We walked down the road (it has a sidewalk) to 480 (Kearneysville Pike), then along the side of the road for a short walk to the cemetery entrance. The road here has a wide shoulder, and the speed limit is 25 mph because the middle school is across the road. There is parking at that apartment building as well – the Rumsey Tavern is also there, a great after-walk lunch spot. The cemetery has parking, but you must enter and follow the narrow roads one-way to park in the upper back.
Ford and I walked in, and what we wanted to see was in the front of the cemetery.
The caretaker’s home was built in 1882.
As you enter, on the right is the memorial to the Bee Line March, which was held in the summer of 1775, when the volunteers came together at Morgan’s Spring, and headed north 600 miles to meet George Washington. It was the start of the Continental Army.
The men had come together on the lands of Morgan and Bedinger, meeting at Morgan’s Spring. They had pledged that in 50 years, should any survive, they would meet back up. (Morgan County in West Virginia, as well as Morgan County in Kentucky, was named after General Daniel Morgan, who was not related to the Morgans that owned the land.)
Two Bedinger’s showed up in 1825. George lived 1756-1843. Henry lived 1753-1843. They were young in the war.
Visiting Morgan’s Grove Park is worth the time if you want to learn more about the Bee Line March and the 250th anniversary that was celebrated in 2025.
September 17th was a brutal day in American history. Wounded men were brought back across the Potomac River to Shepherdstown, in the hope of them surviving. Many did not. It also includes men from the Battle of Shepherdstown, which happened right after Antietam.
Military cemeteries have a distinct look, even from long ago. There are 114 men buried here.
The memorial lists every man lost.
There is also a memorial to the unknown buried here.
Nearly all the men are “unknown”. It was mid-September, and burial was far more important than knowing who was who.
Walk the burial area for more information.
More history.
We walked through the cemetery, going to the top. The view of the Blue Ridge Mountains was unexpected on a cold morning (it was 32*).
It is a quiet, yet beautiful walk.
~Sarah