The coastal region boasts some of 

 the state's oldest and most intriguing 

 graveyards. Ihey tell of history, legend, 

 love and loss. Personal sentiments and 

 grand accolades are etched into mossy 

 stones, some barely legible anymore. The 

 cemeteries described here — in Beaufort, 

 Cedar Island and New Bern — are within 

 driving distance of one another, and they 

 represent a sampling of the history and 

 heritage that can be found among I ar 

 Heel tombstones. 



Lhe guide points to a back corner 

 of the Old Burying Ground — its 

 northwest side — and asks what I see. 

 Nothing, really. It looks empty. 

 But actually, this flat, grassy 

 ground holds some of the oldest bones 

 in the Beaufort graveyard and is quite 

 possibly its most crowded section, says 

 Bennett Moss, who takes visitors on 

 tours. Moss is chairman of the Old 

 Burying Ground Committee for the 

 Beaufort Historical Association, which 

 maintains the site. 



Like most cemeteries, plenty of 

 secrets and stories were buried along 

 with bodies in the Old Burying 

 Ground. But these tales were not lost to 

 time in isolated Beaufort — a town 

 estranged from the mainland during its 

 early history. Because of its geographic 

 isolation, people stayed in the area 

 from generation to generation, passing 

 along stories of the more colorful 

 residents and visitors to the busy port. 

 Many of these characters are interred at 

 the Old Burying Ground. 



The deceptively empty-looking 

 northwest corner is no exception to the 

 local telltale traditions. A recent 

 archaeological survey has confirmed 

 that graves are there, perhaps contain- 

 ing victims of the 1711 Tuscaroran 

 uprising. The skulls appear cleft from 

 blows by tomahawks, Moss says. And 

 records of the area indicate that it had 

 "been depopulated by the late Indian 

 War and Massacre." 



"We don't know how many people 

 Continued 



COASTWATCH 3 



