Ouachita County

The Confederate section of Camden's old Oakland Cemetery has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. It is located at the intersection of Adams Avenue and Maul Road in Camden, Arkansas.

A tall marble shaft surrounded by seven orderly rows of graves mark the final resting place of more than 200 Sons of the Confederacy. Some fell at the Battle of Poison Springs, some at the Battle of Jenkins Ferry, some from natural causes, but few were identified and most of the head stones bear only the sad word "Unknown". Many of the gravestones bear emblems of the War or state service records of the gallant old soldiers buried below.

Throughout the Cemetery, little iron stars mark the graves of confederate veterans. Each of the stars are embossed with "CSA Veteran 1861-1865" and twelve small stars are within the outline of the large star. The Confederate flag is carved on the grave stone of a Dr. Hudson and many other stones carry the company or area of service of the person memorialized.

Although the sacred ground is known as the Confederate Cemetery, there are many other interesting stories of the lives and times of Camden's early settlers. Among them is Porter Clay, the younger brother of Henry Clay. Porter Clay was a minister of the gospel and devoted the best part of his life to the service of religion. He came to Camden in the late 1840's as an evangelist. He held a revival meeting he founded a church and became its first minister.

Four weathered old wooden posts with a heavy iron anchor chain connected between the tops of each post form a small enclosure for an unmarked grave. Legend has it that a mother and her young daughter were passengers on a steamboat passing Camden. The child suddenly sickened and died and the boat stopped so that she might be buried. Only the items conveniently at hand could be used to designate the spot. Ship timbers and a spare anchor chain were erected by the steamer's crew. The spot today remains unchanged.

Beautiful examples of wrought-iron work can be noted in fences around many plots. This handiwork of an art craft almost forgotten, combine with the hundreds of unwritten and unknown stories to make Oakland Cemetery a place of beauty and interest.

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