For two years Virginia Military Institute (VMI) alumni worked to clear the vandalized and neglected cemetery, searching for the grave of a VMI cadet, William Carmichael, a descendant of Oswell and Aphra Ann Eve. He fought in the Battle of New Market during the Civil War and is buried in Cottage Cemetery. The VMI alumni’s work inspired descendants of those buried in the cemetery to form the Cottage Cemetery Cousin Committee, now known as Augusta’s Historic Cottage Cemetery (AHCC). Learn more about AHCC in The Friends section.
The committee hired the Chicora Foundation to assess the cemetery. Following their report, AHCC began raising money to fix the markers and headstones. Chicora repaired many of them and trained a local team to continue with additional restorations.
Annual workdays are organized to maintain the cemetery. Cousins and friends come from diverse places to help with the work of weeding, cleaning, and whatever projects are needed. To learn more about our workdays, visit the Workdays page. To join us on a workday, reach out on the Contact page.
Augusta's Historic Cottage Cemetery 