CONFEDERATE CEMETERY,
JOHNSON’S ISLAND
Just
a stone’s throw from the twinkling lights and boisterous crowds of Cedar Point
is a sanctuary for quiet reflection.
Located
in Ottawa County, Johnson’s Island sits in Sandusky Bay and harbors the grounds
of a former Civil War military prison and Confederate cemetery.
History buffs
and the merely curious can reach the island located just south of the
Marblehead Lighthouse via a causeway that runs off Rt.163.
The buildings where thousands lived, worked
and took shelter from the cold Lake Erie winters are gone, but the place where
206 people were laid to rest remains.
Visitors
can park nearby and wind their way along the level, well-manicured ground in
between the white Georgia marble tombstones.
There’s
room to maneuver a wheelchair past the headstones that memorialize names,
military ranks and states of origin, haunting reminders of a violent struggle
that pitted brother against brother.
STORY CONTINUES TOMORROW -- APRIL 29
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