Grave of Civil War soldier found on Decatur college campus

TANNER, Ala. (WHNT) — Historians and state leaders gathered at the Decatur campus of Calhoun Community College to unveil a headstone and celebrate the service of the man buried beneath it.

The headstone belongs to African American Union soldier Hiram Matthews, whose story was lost after escaping slavery in 1863. But discovering the history behind the headstone required revealing decades of history.

It all began when Calhoun history instructor John Gaines organized his students to perform their regular cleanup of the cemetery across the street from the campus.

“One day we noticed that there was a single grave on the side of campus that’s actually on our property and that was interesting to me, and I sort of stuck it in the back of my mind,” said Gaines.

They found the name Hiram Matthews on the headstone but didn’t know who that was.

Gaines immediately began contacting funeral homes in Morgan County to uncover his past, revealing a story that historians in the county have been working to piece together for a very long time.

“We had discussed that there was a grave on the Calhoun campus that was Hiram Matthews, and then historian Peggy Allen Towns got involved,” explained Rev. Wylheme Ragland, Historian from the United Methodist Church. “We discovered that he was the same patriot and pastor that we all were researching, and it came together.”

“We found his pension records that provided information about what plantation he was on as well as activities after the war when he indicated that he became a circuit preacher,” said Towns.

That single grave, dedicated by Alabama senator Arthur Orr, is now adorned with a fence on Calhoun’s Decatur campus.

According to historians, there’s no other college or university in the state of Alabama with an African American Union soldier’s headstone and burial site on the college campus.

The gravesite is accessible to the public and located at the south end of the campus.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com.