All,
Here is some info that you may or may not know about the Pleasant Mills Cemetery that was written by newspaperman and historian Joseph G. Wilson. This is my interpretation of all his writings.
Jonathan Miller was a Civil War soldier, one of six brothers who shared that distinction. His parents, Joseph Miller and Rebecca Cobb Miller had four daughters and 7 sons, with Jonathan the fourth son born. He came into this world on August 11, 1843 at Batsto he claimed, and eventually married Louise Roller and had six children of their own.
He enlisted on August 28, 1862 and was honorably discharged at an army hospital in Newark because of a disability on April 10, 1863. After passing in 1915, he was buried in the Pleasant Mills Cemetery just a few yards from the Mullica River. His wife wanting to place “something special” on his grave, ordered a marble statue from Italy of a Union Soldier. Unfortunately, the sculpture who made the statue used a photo of a southern soldier, complete with a southern looking hat on it. His wife not having the money to return it had it placed on his grave anyway.
With that said, Mr. Wilson at a later date found out that Jonathan Miller had indeed reenlisted a second time as a Union Cavalryman, and their uniform and hat are similar in design as a Confederate soldier would wear. So the sculpture in actuality may have been perfectly correct. In any case, at the time it was placed there it apparently was not thought of as appropriate.
Just before Easter in 1969, some 54 years later, the “Little Soldier” statue disappeared, and the pedestal where it stood is empty. The theories abound on what actually happened to it, and who took it. One theory is an antique dealer hired someone to remove it by backing a truck in and carting it away. Or could someone have wanted it for a souvenir, or maybe vandals removed the statue and destroyed it, which seems highly unlikely? It is hoped that one day it will return.
Guy
Here is some info that you may or may not know about the Pleasant Mills Cemetery that was written by newspaperman and historian Joseph G. Wilson. This is my interpretation of all his writings.
Jonathan Miller was a Civil War soldier, one of six brothers who shared that distinction. His parents, Joseph Miller and Rebecca Cobb Miller had four daughters and 7 sons, with Jonathan the fourth son born. He came into this world on August 11, 1843 at Batsto he claimed, and eventually married Louise Roller and had six children of their own.
He enlisted on August 28, 1862 and was honorably discharged at an army hospital in Newark because of a disability on April 10, 1863. After passing in 1915, he was buried in the Pleasant Mills Cemetery just a few yards from the Mullica River. His wife wanting to place “something special” on his grave, ordered a marble statue from Italy of a Union Soldier. Unfortunately, the sculpture who made the statue used a photo of a southern soldier, complete with a southern looking hat on it. His wife not having the money to return it had it placed on his grave anyway.
With that said, Mr. Wilson at a later date found out that Jonathan Miller had indeed reenlisted a second time as a Union Cavalryman, and their uniform and hat are similar in design as a Confederate soldier would wear. So the sculpture in actuality may have been perfectly correct. In any case, at the time it was placed there it apparently was not thought of as appropriate.
Just before Easter in 1969, some 54 years later, the “Little Soldier” statue disappeared, and the pedestal where it stood is empty. The theories abound on what actually happened to it, and who took it. One theory is an antique dealer hired someone to remove it by backing a truck in and carting it away. Or could someone have wanted it for a souvenir, or maybe vandals removed the statue and destroyed it, which seems highly unlikely? It is hoped that one day it will return.
Guy
