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Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
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Source:  Col. Henry “Harry” Burgwyn Monument, Oakwood Cemetery, Raleigh. Photo courtesy of Rusty Long

  • Monument Name

    Col. Henry “Harry” Burgwyn Monument, Oakwood Cemetery, Raleigh

  • Type

    Obelisk

  • Subjects

    Historic Military Figures

    Civil War, 1861-1865

  • City

    Raleigh

  • County

    Wake

  • Description

    The granite monument to Colonel Henry “Harry” Burgwyn, Jr. who was killed July 1, 1863 at Gettysburg is the largest in the Confederate section of Oakwood Cemetery. It consists of a triple base with a flat topped obelisk style shaft on top. The shaft is adorned with a wreath surrounding a sheathed scabbard on the north face. The upper base section contains inscriptions on three sides. In relief on the north face is the Burgwyn family crest and family moto “Semper Fidelis." The south face inscription was the only one present when the monument when erected at the grave by his parents. In 1913 his brother William Hyslot Sumner Burgwyn, was buried at his side. An inscription to William was then added on the east face. The west face inscription is in honor of William H.S. Burgwyn’s wife who had remarried and died in 1941. She is not buried at this location. The graves lie on the east side. At the foot of the graves are markers with the initials of the two brothers. The foot of Henry Burgwyn’s grave has two additional granite makers and a bronze Confederate Cross of Honor.

    Images: North side | South side | East inscription | West inscription | South face inscription | Foot marker 1 | Foot marker 2 | Foot marker 3 | Family Crest | Monuments to Col. McLeod Turner, Col. Burgwyn and Randolph Shotwel

  • Inscription

    South Face: HENRY KING BURGWYN, JR. / COL'N 26TH REGT. N.C.T. / FELL AT GETTYSBURG JULY 1, 1863 / AGED 22 YEARS / THE LORD GAVE / AND / THE LORD HATH TAKEN AWAY.

    East Face: WILLIAM HYSLOT SUMNER BURGWYN / BORN JULY 23, 1845, / JANUARY 3, 1913 / CHRISTIAN, PATRIOT, SCHOLAR / CAPT. OF COMPANY H 35TH REG. RANSOM’S BRIGADE IN 1864. / LATER ASSISTANT ADJUTANT GENERAL OF CLINGMAN’S BRIGADE / COL. OF THE 5TH MARYLAND REGIMENT IN 188O. / COL. 2ND REG. N.C. VOLS. IN THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR 1898. / AND NOW ABIDE FAITH, HOPE, CHARITY, THESE THREE, / BUT THE GREATEST OF THESE IS CHARITY.

    West Face: MARGARET CARLISLE DUNLOP / BELOVED WIFE OF / WM. H.S. BUGWYN / BORN AUGUST 4, 1848 / DIED JANUARY 23, 1941 / FRIEND TO THE FRIENDLESS / A MOTHER TO THE MOTHERLESS, / SHE GAVE HER LIFE TO OTHERS / AND HER HEART TO GOD.

    Foot of Grave #1: HENRY KING BURGWYN, JR. / COL. 26 NC STATE TROOP / CONFEDERATE STATES ARMY

    Foot of Grave #2: YOUNGEST / COLONEL / IN ARMY / KILLED AT / GETTYSBURG / CARRYING FLAG / OF 26TH NC INF

  • Custodian

    Oakwood Cemetery

  • Dedication Date

    Some time in between June 9, 1867 and 1876

  • Decade

    1870s

  • Geographic Coordinates

    35.784860 , -78.627480 View in Geobrowsemap pin

  • Supporting Sources

      Historic Oakwood Cemetery, http://historicoakwoodcemetery.org (accessed May 19, 2021) Link

      Sheppard, Anita Ann. “Burgwyn, William Hyslop Sumner,” NCPedia.org, (accessed October 25, 2015) Link

      Wilson, Clyde. “Burgwyn, Henry ("Harry") King, Jr.,” NCPedia.org, (accessed October 16, 2015) Link

      “Henry King Burgwyn, Jr.,” Find A Grave, (accessed October 25, 2015) Link

      “Orsequies Of The Late Col. Burgwyn,” The Raleigh Sentinel (Raleigh, NC), June 10, 1867, 3

      “State News,” The Daily Journal (Wilmington, NC), June 13, 1867, 3

      “The Late Col. H.K. Burgwyn, Jr.” The Daily Journal (Wilmington, NC), June 9, 1867, 3

      “Under The Stars And Bars,” The Morning Post (Raleigh, NC), March 22, 1903, 13

  • Public Site

    Yes

  • Materials & Techniques

    Granite

  • Sponsors

    The parents of Burgwyn paid for the monument

  • Subject Notes

    Henry “Harry” Burgwyn was known as the “Boy Colonel of the Confederacy” and the youngest or one of the youngest colonels in the Confederate Army at the time of his death at Gettysburg in 1863. Burgwyn commanded the 26th Regiment of NC Troops during the battle which resulted in the death and wounding of 588 of 800 men. This is thought to be the highest casualty rate for a single regiment in a single day for either side during the war.

    Historic Oakwood Cemetery was founded in 1869 in North Carolina's capital, Raleigh, near the North Carolina State Capitol in the city's Historic Oakwood neighborhood. Annual Confederate Memorial Day services are held at the Oakwood Cemetery each May.

  • Location

    The memorial is located in Historic Oakwood Cemetery, at 701 Oakwood Ave, Raleigh, NC 27601, in the Confederate section. The Memorial Arch, House of Memory, Confederate Monument, Memorial Wall, Gettysburg Memorial, Colonel McLeod Turner Monument, General George Anderson Monument, CSS H.L. Hunley Submarine Memorial, Randolph Shotwell Memorial, Arlington Dead Marker and the Civil War Sesquicentennial Marker stand in the same section of the Oakwood Cemetery. Outside the Confederate section are memorials to Worth Bagley and William Ruffin Cox.

  • Landscape

    The memorial is surrounded by grave markers and monuments.

  • Death Space

    Yes

  • Post Dedication Use

    The Oakwood Cemetery continues to serve for Confederate Memorial Services each Memorial Day.

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