2 p.m., Saturday, June 7, 2014

Drake Cemetery located near 2755 Hwy. 19E, Elizabethton, TN

Drake Cemetery, on the outskirts of Elizabethton, holds the graves of two men from different walks of life who wound up on opposing sides of the War for Southern Independence. One was a slave, who accompanied his master, Samuel Murray Stover, into Virginia to serve as a Teamster in the C.S.A. His name was Robert "Bob" Stover (1846-1924). Returning from Virginia, Samuel M. Stover and Robert Stover were captured by the Union Army at Fall Branch, Tennessee, in March 1865, and returned to Elizabethton. Robert Stover received a Confederate pension from the State of Tennessee.

A memorial headstone for Robert Stover will be dedicated, in ceremony, at 2 p.m., June 7, 2014, at the Drake Cemetery near Elizabethton.  The military service of both Robert Stover and Col. Stover will be saluted by Honor Guards of the 4th TN Infantry U.S., and Co. F 59th TN Mounted Inf. CSA.  Mr. H. K. Edgerton will be the keynote speaker for the dedication.  The ceremony is sponsored by the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Lt. Robert J. Tipton Camp #2083.  As the sesquicentennial period of the war winds down, the group wishes to remember the families in divided Carter County who endured that era.

Parking will be available in a large field near Mills Greenhouse and Landscape, 2755 Hwy. 19E, Elizabethton, TN. For additional information, contact Scott Bowers at 423-773-6374 or Bill Hicks at 423-542-6782.