ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla — Tuesday afternoon, a small group of people gathered in downtown St. Augustine to witness a priest bless a Confederate general’s remains before those ashes were exhumed.
Those ashes were believed to be those underneath the base of a Confederate memorial that was removed and relocated Monday.
Confederate General William Loring’s ashes were buried under a memorial to him in St. Augustine in 1920, according to a newspaper article from that time.
This summer, Loring's descendants sent letters to the University of Florida, which manages the property, asking for the memorial and ashes to be relocated. The memorial was moved to a park Monday about 20 miles away.
According to a newspaper article from the time the memorial was installed, not only were ashes placed underneath the base but a sword and a piece of cloth as well.
UF asked Father Tom Willis to bless the ashes while they remained in the ground, under a large concrete base which was still on site Tuesday. The ashes will eventually be moved to a cemetery. It will be the fourth place where his remains have been laid to rest.
"It is an acknowledgment that we prayed at one time for this person to rest in peace," Willis said, "and we still want that gift of peace to remain with, in this case, General Loring, even though we're having to disturb where his mortal remains lie."
A small group attended the informal ceremony inside a fenced-in area. The construction crew with the removal company was also there. The crewmen all removed their hardhats during the prayer and blessing.
Father Willis told First Coast News, "What I thought was interesting about the crew is they wanted to make sure that I waited to begin until everybody was here. That touched me deeply. That they understand the reverence and respect of this moment. This is not just a piece of work for them to do. There is something special about this."
The monuments, as well as the removal of those two Confederate memorials in downtown St. Augustine, have stirred emotions and tension in the small city.
Father Tom’s commented, saying, "It’s about making sure people are always treated with dignity and fairness, no matter who they are. No matter what their background is."
Later Tuesday, after the blessing, a crane lifted the 28,000-pound concrete memorial's base.
An archaeologist then studied the area which was exposed. She did not find ashes, or a sword, or a piece or cloth. There was, however, an indentation in the ground where the concrete base sat.
Ed Poppell with the University of Florida said the archaeologist found, through stains in the soil, an outline of a children's size coffin. He said it's "consistent with what was described in the newspaper" article from 1920. It's assumed that Loring's ashes would have been placed in that coffin.
It's believed, at least upon the preliminary study of the site, that the coffin disintegrated or possibly collapsed. Poppell said the archaeologist did indeed find the metal and wooden corners of what they think was a coffin.
UF will continue to study the area where the memorial stood.
Poppell said Loring's descendants have been updated with the latest information.