Last updated: February 1, 2023
Place
Carter Family Cemetery
NPS / Hassler
Quick Facts
Location:
Manassas, Virginia
Significance:
Historic Cemetery
Designation:
National Battlefield Park
Amenities
1 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
Over 70 members of the Carter family rest in the Carter cemetery – spanning multiple generations and two centuries of continuous ownership. The graves are arranged in a linear pattern, although none are marked with an inscribed headstone. The cemetery includes the graves of Landon Carter, Jr., the builder of Pittsylvania, and his son-in-law Dr. Isaac Henry, whose widow Judith would be killed during the First Battle of Manassas.
Following the destruction of Pittsylvania, the Carters built a modest new house near the site of the former mansion. Family members salvaged rock from the original foundation and nearby outbuildings to delineate the cemetery. In a letter to her cousin, Sarah Carter wrote in 1885: “Edwin [Carter] and Arthur Lee [Henry] have been hard at work hauling rock to enclose the dear old grave yard. It is done with a good strong wall around the gate and lock. I am so thankful we have lived to see it done.” The last interment in the cemetery occurred in 1903.
Following the destruction of Pittsylvania, the Carters built a modest new house near the site of the former mansion. Family members salvaged rock from the original foundation and nearby outbuildings to delineate the cemetery. In a letter to her cousin, Sarah Carter wrote in 1885: “Edwin [Carter] and Arthur Lee [Henry] have been hard at work hauling rock to enclose the dear old grave yard. It is done with a good strong wall around the gate and lock. I am so thankful we have lived to see it done.” The last interment in the cemetery occurred in 1903.