Mt. Olivet Cemetery

James Leon Windham shares this description: Located in Nashville, Tennessee, Mt. Olivet Cemetery is the final resting place of 1500 Confederate soldiers. Confederate Circle is the cemetery's highest point and is marked by a 45-foot granite monument erected in 1889. Concrete walkways divide the circle into quadrants.

Inside the northwest quadrant Windham located the marker for one of his greatuncles, J. J. Barlow. Censuses list this soldier as Jeptha who was a member of Company E not I as shown on the marker. His death date cannot be 1862 as there are medical records beyond that. The more likely date is December 26, 1863.

This monument stands in the center of Confederate Circle overlooking the four quadrants. Moving outward from the center, there are 13 rows of graves. The northwest quadrant contains the markers for the men of Alabama who surrendered their lives for the southland. The southwest quadrant holds markers for Mississippi soldiers; the northeast honors those from Arkansas; and the southeast is for men from the other various states, excepting Tennessee.

Starting at the center and moving outward, in what would be considered the 7th row are the remains of the vast unknown Confederates who were first buried where they fell in battle. The remaining rows contain Confederate soldiers from Tennessee.

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