Sunday, May 21, 2006

Mom's on the Trail

I was surprised to find a reference to Lt. Col. Charles de Choiseul's burial place as a cemetery in Flat Rock, N.C. The hamlet was far from de Choiseul's home state, Louisiana, and the place where he was mortally wounded, Port Republic, Virginia. Then I learned that his father, a former French consul in Charleston, S.C., had built a summer home in Flat Rock in the 1830s — a popular trend with other prominent Charlestonians seeking to escape the sultry South Carolina climate. I mentioned the cemetery to my mother, who lives in Columbus, N.C., a short drive from Flat Rock. She loves visiting cemeteries and quickly volunteered to go and see if de Choiseul was interred there. A week later I received an excited telephone call. Mom found the grave site! The next day, she e-mailed me a number of digital photos of the site and surrounding cemetery, which is also the final resting place for Confederate treasury secretary Christopher Gustavus Memminger. Way to go, Mom!

1 Comments:

Blogger Kim Swan Guzman said...

Dear Mr Coddington:
I found your website while searching for information on Lt. Col. Charles de Choiseul. I have been trying to find his birthdate, place of birth and mother's maiden name for months and you are my shining hope! I only have the name "Lindsay" for his mother and don't know if this is a first or last name. My husband's great grandfather was a Choiseul and is related to Charles. Any information you have would be greatly appreciated. On a personal note, when I first started searching, I found the letter that he penned to Emma Louise Watson on Sept. 5, 1861 as he was faced with the task of "taming" the Tiger Rifles. The letter was charming and a little bit flirty - you could read his sense of humor and that they must have had a teasing relationship. I had hoped to find that, after the war, they married, had children and lived a long and happy life together. I was heartbroken to learn that he was mortally wounded at Port Republic, VA. My email address is swannie472@sbcglobal.net and look forward to hearing from you. Best of luck in your continued research.
Warm Regards,
Kim Guzman
San Jose, CA

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