By Jarred Marlowe
In the early morning hours of April 8, 1865, a detachment of the Union 10th Michigan Cavalry launched a surprise attack on the Confederate 6th Tennessee Cavalry near Jones Creek in Martinsville. The fighting lasted barely an hour before the Confederates retreated toward Danville, leaving Union troops in control of the town. When the gunfire faded, six soldiers lay dead, casualties of what would become one of the final military actions of the Civil War in Virginia.
As was customary for the army left holding the field, the Union force took responsibility for tending to the wounded and the fallen. Field hospitals were quickly set up throughout Martinsville, including several private homes and possibly the courthouse area. The Episcopal Church cemetery (located near today’s Farmers Market and Gym 24), then the only burial ground within the town limits received the bodies of the six men: five Union and one Confederate. Oakwood Cemetery would not be created until 1883, making the church cemetery the logical resting place for these fallen soldiers. Also, directly across the street stood the home of Dr. James Moss Smith (present-day City Hall location), used by Union troops as both a field hospital and temporary headquarters during their brief occupation.
What became of most of those soldiers’ graves remains a lingering mystery. The lone Confederate killed was later reburied at Oakwood Cemetery. One Union officer, Lt. Thomas G. Kenyon, was moved to the Danville National Cemetery after it opened in 1867. But the final resting places of the remaining four Union soldiers have never been determined.
Clues are scarce. In the 1960s, attorney Reid Young purchased the old church cemetery property and built an office on the site. The remains once buried there were moved to either Oakwood Cemetery or Roselawn Burial Park. Newspaper accounts from the time make no mention of any Civil War burials. It is possible the Union soldiers were moved to Oakwood and placed in unmarked graves, given that they had once served in an opposing army. The Union soldiers may have also been relocated in the same manner that Lt. Kenyon’s remains were moved, but unlike his marked grave, they may now rest among the 148 stones marked Unknown at the Danville National Cemetery.
Though the fate of these young men is uncertain, their sacrifice should not be forgotten. The skirmish in Martinsville was small compared with the great battles of the Civil War, yet for these six soldiers it was the most important moment of their lives, the one that prevented them from returning home. It marks the only time the war directly reached Henry County.
So the next time you pass through the intersection of Liberty St. and Clearview Dr./Stultz Rd., pause to remember the ground beneath you. It is, in many ways, sacred.
Soldiers Killed in Action in Martinsville, April 8, 1865
-Lt. Thomas G. Kenyon, age 26, Lansing, Michigan
-Sgt. John Benton, age 28, Detroit, Michigan
-Pvt. Joseph Cune/Kune, age 37, Grand Rapids, Michigan
-Pv.t Ira E. Harvey, age 23, Grand Rapids, Michigan
-Pvt. George Wood, age 32, Grand Rapids, Michigan
-Unknown Confederate soldier, details unknown
Jarred Marlowe is a local resident and historian. He is a member of the Col. George Waller Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Blue & Gray Education Society, and the committee chair for the Martinsville-Henry County 250 Committee. He may be reached at marloweja15@gmail.com.
