UPDATED: Memorial Day Event Set for Johnson's Island, May 30th

[Image: Camp #1321 Archives; "The Lookout" Monument at Johnson's Island, 1989]

 Admiral Raphael Semmes Camp #1321 (Dearborn, MI) will be observing Confederate Memorial Day this year on Monday, May 30, 2016 (the same day as "national" Memorial Day) at the Confederate Stockade Cemetery on Johnson's Island, near Sandusky, OH. (You can see Cedar Point from the cemetery.) We hope all who are able will make it out for this, our most important event of the year.

It is our intention to place flags at the 206 marked graves, and also at 'The Lookout' monument. Flag placement will begin right around 10 a.m., with a small memorial service taking place shortly afterward to honor the hundreds of Confederate Prisoners of War interred at the site.

For those planning to attend:
- There is a toll booth to get on to the island. The cost is $2.00 (two dollars) in coins or paper money with a machine to accept the money, which then opens the gate. Bring quarters and one dollar bills.
- Please bring a small cooler with something to eat and drink for yourself and guests attending with you. Most of us are bringing some lunch meat, bread - basic sandwich stuff.
- If you require outdoor seating, feel free to bring a lawn chair.
- At this time it appears as though we will have access to the Johnson's Island Property Owners Association (JIPOA) Clubhouse, located right near the cemetery. This will provide us a place to use the restroom, and shelter from the elements if weather is an issue.

Our Camp has observed Confederate Memorial Day at Johnson's Island numerous times in the past. In 1995, our camp was instrumental in getting the Veterans Administration to restore the statue, 'The Lookout,' that stands guard over the cemetery.

Between 1862-1865, the U.S. Federal Government confined more than 10,000 Confederate military personnel (mostly officers) at a military prison facility on Johnson’s Island. All that remains of this POW Camp today is the Cemetery.

Some sources say that more than 300 Confederates died while interred here. Originally the graves were marked by simple hand-carved wooden markers, but over time these deteriorated. In 1890, the 206 old, worn markers that could still be found & read were replaced with marble headstones. Recent efforts using ground-penetrating radar have located 267 graves in and around the cemetery boundaries.