Group trying to preserve lost soldiers cemetery in Pascagoula

A group of Pascagoula residents are trying to preserve a site believed to be the burial ground for nearly one hundred American soldiers.
News 25’s Gina Tomlinson takes us to the location of where the old destroyed Mexican and Civil War cemetery is presumed to be.
In 1848, over one hundred soldiers died in Pascagoula after fighting in the Mexican War, according to this plaque that stands on Beach Drive. Pascagoula resident Julius Redmond said,“But that’s two or three hundred yards away from where the graves are actually at.”
Pascagoula Researcher Julius Redmond says he’s found the site where 81 forgotten American war soldiers are buried. Redmond believes he has detected the location of an old destroyed Mexican and Civil War cemetery using GPS and divining rods. “I retired from NASA and I knew I could use these rods and find underground piping and electrical cables and what have you.”
Redmond says he found three rows of 27 burials. According to his research, those burials were once marked, but when a bad hurricane hit in 1906 the markers were swept away and lost in the storm.
The property on Beach Drive is where Camp Jefferson Davis used to stand. Nearby was Camp Lawson on Greenwood Island that contained a large hospital to care for returning troops that were wounded. Redmond says this unmarked property is where 81 soldiers that didn’t make it are buried and through extensive research Redmond has identified 42 of them. “We know that’s where Camp Jefferson Davis was. All these guys died in 1848 and it was a period over three months that they were at this hospital,” said Redmond.
His mission with the findings: “I think they should set aside that small piece of land there and put a plaque or something up there and put these particular 42 names on it.”
Pascagoula resident Victor Smith said, “The public should know that there are veterans buried here in Pascagoula and they’re unmarked graves that should be preserved.”
“These are American soldiers there. They don’t need to be cast away just for nothing,” said Redmond.