They will have a monument, the 164 Confederate dead presumed to be buried at a cemetery in Weldon.

They will also have a ceremony and roll call on Oct. 11 at 2 p.m.

Working since January, the Roanoke Rapids Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy has been raising funds for the monument to honor the 164 soldiers who died from 1861 to 1865 at the Wayside Hospital No. 9, said Martha Denton, president of the chapter and the chairperson of the monument committee.

The hospital was located in a church, the only church in the town at the time, which used to stand across the corner from where Riverside Mills is now. The hospital had a doctor, an assistant, matrons, a cook and laundress. “People who kept it open and going,” Denton said.

It was in this hospital 164 soldiers died, mostly from disease and not the battlefield. “There was poor sanitation and a lack of (medical) knowledge,” then, she said, “and over in Northampton there were several boot camps. If they got sick they were brought to the hospital.”

While it is not known if all 164 are buried in the cemetery at the end of West First Street, it is known that many died at the hospital from research done years ago.

Now the names of the Confederate dead will be engraved on the 10-feet long and 5-feet tall monument, which is being crafted by Toler Monuments in Wise.

It is important to honor these soldiers, Denton said, “Because these men have never been recognized and honored. They laid unknown all these years. The graves of many soldiers have markers. These laid unknown.”

The cemetery came to the Roanoke Rapids chapter through the now defunct Weldon chapter. The Weldon chapter received the cemetery in 1913 from an African-American man who owned the property. “He chose to give it to them because he knew the soldiers and wanted them to be taken care of,” Denton said.

Through the years, however, the cemetery became choked with vegetation and debris, she said, and in 2004 a cleanup effort began. “The cemetery has been reclaimed and cleaned. It is beautiful. These men need to be honored for the service they gave.”

The efforts to raise money for the monument beginning in January led to a relationship with local funeral home owner Mike Askew, who introduced them to Toler Monuments.

More than $8,000 was raised, Denton said. “We didn’t really solicit. It was word of mouth. People would adopt a soldier. We had large and small amounts of money.”

Many people recognized family names, Denton said. “Some found ancestors, some gave donations because they found family names.”

A group in Salisbury which maintains a Civil War prison donated money because one of the guards stationed there is possibly buried in the cemetery.

The monument will feature the names of the soldiers, their company, state, death date and regiment, Denton said.

The event itself will have a roll call of the names, re-enactors, a gun volley salute, the Rev. Carl Pittard playing bagpipes and Taps.

Because of limited parking there will be a shuttle to take visitors from Riverside Mills to the cemetery. The Halifax Convention and Visitors Bureau is helping by providing permanent direction signs to the cemetery.

That, Denton said, will help more people find the site. “You don’t see a cemetery like this laying unknown with so many soldiers. It’s kind of unusual. It’s a unique situation. The monument is going to be a thing for us.”

For more information contact Denton at 252-535-2163.