OctoberTheme Day: Cemeteries/Tombstones

The Nashville City Cemetery, opened in 1822, is the oldest continuously operating cemetery in the city. Over 20,000 people of all races, colors and creeds have been interred at NCC, including James Robertson, the founder of Nashville. The cemetery is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The resting places shown above are for Captain William Driver, his wife and a few children. Originally from Salem, Massachusetts, Driver is the person who coined the phrase, "Old Glory" when referring to the American flag. Driver designed his own tombstone which, as you can see, has an anchor resting on a tree stump. This grave is one of only three places in the USA where the US Flag can fly 24 hours (authorized by a Congressional act). You might notice that the flag was not flying on the grave today.

Two notes: A few weekends during October, volunteers dressed in period costume tell the story of many of the souls buried in Nashville City Cemetery. We had never gone but plan to do so this year.

The story of "Old Glory:" While the details of the story vary depending on who is telling it, the basic tale is that Driver's mother and her friends sewed the flag for him and presented it to him as he was ready to leave on a journey around the world. Legend has it that he was on his way to rescue mutineers from the ship, The Bounty (Mutiny on the Bounty). When Driver hoisted the flag on the ship's pole and saw it flying in the wind, he exclaimed, "Old Glory!" From that time on, Driver always kept the flag with him, adding to the original 20 stars as states joined the Union.

Driver moved to Nashville in 1837 and proudly showed the flag to everyone. When Tennessee seceded from the Union, Driver had his wife sew the flag inside of a comforter to prevent Confederate soldiers from destroying it. Eventually, Nashville fell to Union soldiers, and Driver removed the flag from the quilt and accompanied a regiment of Ohio soldiers to the state capitol where he hoisted the flag himself.

Be sure to check out the other City Daily Photo Blogs participating in October's Theme Day (Please remember that due to time differences, posts will show up at different times!):
St. Louis (MO), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - New York City (NY), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Mainz, Germany - Hyde, UK - Arlington (VA), USA - Cape Town, South Africa - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Toulouse, France - Arradon, France - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - Joplin (MO), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Seattle (WA), USA - Baziège, France - Baltimore (MD), USA - Chandler (AZ), USA - Sequim (WA), USA - Stayton (OR), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Grenoble, France - Seoul, South Korea - Greenville (SC), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Nashville (TN), USA - Tenerife, Spain - Manila, Philippines - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Jacksonville (FL), USA - River Falls (WI), USA - Chateaubriant, France - Quincy (MA), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Inverness (IL), usa - Lubbock (TX), USA - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Moscow, Russia - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - Crepy-en-Valois, France - Minneapolis (MN), USA - New Orleans (LA), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Toruń, Poland - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Christchurch, New Zealand - London, England - Paderborn, Germany - The Hague, Netherlands - Selma (AL), USA - Sunderland, UK - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Stavanger, Norway - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - Weston (FL), USA - Portland (OR), USA - Forks (WA), USA - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Boston (MA), USA - Sydney, Australia - Wellington, New Zealand - Montpellier, France - Jackson (MS), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Evry, France - Saarbrücken, Germany - New York City (NY), USA - Santa Fe (NM), USA - North Bay (ON), Canada - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Cypress (TX), USA - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Paris, France - San Diego (CA), USA - Wichita (Ks), USA - Haninge, Sweden