Adjacent to Raleigh's historic neighborhoods and not too far from the Legislative Building, Oakwood Cemetery is the resting place of 1400 Confederate soldiers, five Civil War generals, seven governors and numerous US Senators. Most recently, NCSU basketball coach, Jim Valvano, was buried in Oakwood.

Oakwood is an excellent example of Victorian landscaping and mortuary art. It was created in 1866 because the city needed a place to bury its Confederate dead. The Mordecai family donated the first 2.5 acres from their plantation. Today, Oakwood has grown into a 100-acre park with over 40,000 graves and room for 40,000 more.

A stroll through the paths reveal many interesting stories. One marker honors Berrien K. Upshaw, also known as "Red." Upshaw was Margaret Mitchell's second husband on whom she based the character Rhett Butler.

Another memorial is dedicated to the "Oakwood Princess." Rachel Blythe was a full-blooded Cherokee who married AG Bauer, the architect of the Governor's mansion. When she died, her grief-stricken husband spent the next year building her a tombstone replica of the Greek temple of Diana before he committed suicide.

While May 31 is traditional Memorial Day across our nation, some southerners also celebrate May 10, the anniversary of Andrew Jackson's death, as Confederate Memorial Day.