Harrison Street gate, Oaklawn Cemetery, Tampa (Jim Studnicki) Oaklawn Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in Tampa. It is at
the intersection of Morgan Street and Harrison Street in downtown Tampa, about
two block south of I-275. SCV Jubal A. Early Camp 556 maintains a list
of all known CSA interments in the cemetery, and continues to perform excellent
marker and grave maintenance work.
Harrison Street entrance gate. A good place to park is right outside this gate. Oaklawn Cemetery is unlocked during daylight hours only.
(1 comment) U.S.S. Sagamore marker. Most people are unaware that several small Civil War skirmishes were fought in the vicinity of Tampa. On July 2, 1862, the Confederate commander of Fort Brooke, John W. Pearson, wrote an account of the U.S.S. Sagamore's attempt to reoccupy Tampa. During that engagement, one of the Sagamore's shells landed in Oaklawn Cemetery, which is significantly north of Fort Brooke's position. It is possible that the shell which landed in the cemetery was fired at the rear guard Pearson placed with his ammunition and materiel.
Grave of 2nd Lieutenant Thomas Wilkes Givens, Company K, 8th Florida Infantry. Givens was a Seminole War veteran and originally enlisted as 1st Corporal in Company K, 2nd Florida Infantry in Fernandina. He spent some time as the 2nd's Quartermaster Sergeant before transferring into Company K, 8th Florida Infantry as 2nd Lieutenant on October 6, 1862. (His replacement in the 2nd was none other than Francis Philip Fleming, future governor of Florida.) Company K, 8th Florida Infantry was originally organized in Tampa as an independant militia company.
Givens was wounded in the left foot on July 2, 1863 at Gettysburg during the assault on Cemetery Ridge but managed to make it off the field. He was left behind at the Gettysburg College hospital where he was captured when the Federals regained control of the town after the Confederate retreat. He was then moved to Camp Letterman hospital with many other wounded Floridians sometime in early August. Once he recuperated sufficiently to travel, he was sent to Johnson's Island prison where he spent most of the remainder of the war. He survived his imprisonment and was finally paroled and forwarded for exchange on February 24, 1865. It is unclear whether he rejoined his unit. He was paroled by the Federal government in Tallahassee on May 10, 1865, about a month after Lee's surrender at Appomattox. He settled in Tampa after the war and lived to the age of 72. A 1910 Tampa City Directory lists his address as 303 Morgan Street. I believe that site is now occupied by a 19 story office building (the old Raytheon building at 501 E. Kennedy Blvd). For about two years I worked on the 6th and 7th floors of that building . . .
Grave of Private George W. Sparkman, Company B, 2nd Florida Infantry. He lived in Waldo in 1861, and enlisted in a militia company known as the Alachua Guards. On July 10, 1861, the 'Guards were mustered into Confederate service as Company B, 2nd Florida Infantry. It is unknown which, if any, of the Seven Days' battles he fought in, or if he was at 2nd Manassas. Just prior to Sharpsburg, however, Sparkman was discharged on September 9, 1862. The timing of this event suggests he might have been disabled at 2nd Manassas. However, although present at 2nd Manassas, the 2nd Florida was not heavily engaged. Sparkman reenlisted January 16, 1863 at Camp Finegan in Company B, 2nd Florida Cavalry. He was detached to the Confederate Signal Corps on June 8, 1863 and paroled at Baldwin on May 17, 1865.
Grave of Musician John J. Givens, Company K, 8th Florida Infantry. John Givens enlisted on September 15, 1861 in Tampa as a Musician. He was discharged on February 23, 1862 by order of General Trapier. John was the brother of Thomas Wilkes Givens.
Grave of Colonel Robert Brenham Thomas, 2nd / 9th Florida Infantry. Thomas was a native Kentuckian who graduated from West Point in 1852. For the next four years he was a lieutenant in the US Army. At the outbreak of war, he enlisted in the Columbia Rifles -- Company C, 2nd Florida Infantry -- in Jacksonville and was appointed Adjutant on July 13, 1861. He immediately travelled with the 2nd by rail to Richmond, only to miss the Battle of Manassas by a day.
In early October 1861, shortly after the regiment was assigned to General "Prince John" Bankhead Magruder's command on the Virignia Peninsula, Thomas was recalled to Richmond and reassigned (the Adjutant vacancy in the 2nd Florida was filled by Lieutenant Charles Seton Fleming). He then spent some time serving on General Mercer's staff as a Lieutenant. On February 17, 1862, he was promoted Major and A.I.G. under General Finegan. It is known from primary sources that he was in Lake City enlisting men into the 9th Florida Infantry on August 7th, 1863. Although there are no official records, it is likely he was appointed commander of the 9th by Finegan. At some point after this he was promoted Colonel, and he is the highest ranking Confederate officer buried in Oaklawn Cemetery.
He was present with the 9th at Cold Harbor on June 3, 1864, and wrote a congratulatory letter to the new Florida troops after the action, stating they had performed up to the standards of the battle-hardened veterans of Lee's army. It is unknown if he stayed with the Florida Brigade to surrender at Appomattox after Finegan returned to Florida in early 1865. After the war, while a Brigadier General in the Florida Militia, he married Fannie E. Givens (the sister of Thomas Wilkes and John J. Givens) on March 27, 1879. She is buried next to him in Oaklawn Cemetery.
Graves of Private William H. Brown, Company G, 5th Florida Infantry, and Private John F. Brown, Company K, 8th Florida Infantry. These two brothers served in different units during the war, but are buried next to each other in Oaklawn Cemetery. Prior to enlisting in the 5th, William H. Brown served in a militia unit called the Aucilla Guards. He enlisted in Company G, 5th Florida Infantry (the Anderson Infantry) on March 8, 1862 in Jefferson County. The next reference to him indicates that he was placed on detached service in Florida in early 1864. He was paroled on May 16, 1865 in Tallahassee. He was married in July of 1866 but lived only four more years. His marker originally read "WILLIAM H BROWN JR" but the "JR" has been covered up with a stone-colored patch, as is evident in the photo. He is one of four different William H. Browns who were members of Perry's Brigade at one time or another.
William's younger brother, John F. Brown, was another member of the only Tampa company in Perry's Brigade. He enlisted in Company K, 8th Florida Infantry on November 4, 1861 but was discharged by order of General Trapier on February 23, 1862 -- most likely due to his age. On this date John was just over two weeks past his 16th birthday. Unfortunately, no further records exist of him. He survived the war but died at the age of 21.
This handsome monument commemorates the Brown brothers a few feet from their headstones. At first glance, it appears to be made of stone, but upon closer inspection I found it to be made of metal (bronze?) and hollow. Interestingly, it lists John as "JOHN E. BROWN" but the birth and death dates are the same as those listed on his CSA marker. As we can assume that it was erected by family members / relatives, it may be more accurate than the CSA marker.
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