Civil War grave desecrated

PREVIOUS COVERAGE - Major Joseph Gillette left his mark on history 145 years ago.

Now someone left a mark on Gillette.

"It was four feet wide and four feet deep and a huge amount of dirt over here, and bricks," says Tommy Simmons, commander of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 1471, of the damage.

Sometime after Memorial Day, the Civil War grave of the Southampton cavalry commander was desecrated. Piles of dirt surrounded the burial spot, but the hole wasn't deep enough to reach the casket, which was untouched.

"They were just going in to something they had no business," says Joseph Everett. "They wanted to see what was in there."

Everett grew up listening to stories of Major Gillette, re-living the days of the man he was named after: his great grandfather.

"Well," he ponders, "it makes me think that somebody is doing things that they ought not be doing."

"He was not buried with his sword. He was probably buried with his Confederate States Army Uniform," says Simmons.

Sons of Confederate Veterans discovered the damage on Wednesday and filled in the hole to let Joseph Gillette rest in peace once again.

"We strive to protect and preserve for future generations our heritage and our history," adds Simmons.

But with very few clues as to who desecrated the grave or even when it happened, the job of protecting and preserving has, for now, become more difficult.