Longview News-Journal; Longview,Texas Thursday, April 24, 2008

In 1974, a cemetery book was published in Upshur County listing the burial
of a man named Cullin Redwine Earp; however, it was not known where his burial site was.

At the time, Bill Starnes, owner of Hadden's Sandwich Shop in Gilmer,Texas
took notice of the name. About 10 years ago, Starnes said, he began to seriously
research the name and the grave.

A group of volunteers exhumes the body of Confederate Col. Cullin Redwine Earp
on a rainy day in February near Latch. Earp's remains will be reburied in Gilmer.

Two years ago, the deteriorated, vandalized grave was found near Latch — unbefitting
of a Confederate soldier, Starnes said.

Col. Cullin Redwine Earp's grave was exhumed, and on Friday and Saturday, the remains
of the soldier who served his country more than 140 years ago will be reinterred at
Hopewell Cemetery in Gilmer.

"We decided we needed to do something with him. We needed to put him in place
with perpetual care," said Starnes, a past commander of the Upshur County Patriots.

Earp was born Aug. 8, 1828, in Alabama, Starnes said. Earp moved to Texas as a teenager,
but returned to Alabama. He joined the Army and fought in the Mexican War.

After the war, Earp returned to Texas and married, Starnes said. Earp was farmer
in Upshur County when the Civil War erupted in 1862.

Earp assumed full command of the 10th Texas Cavalry, Confederate States Army, in 1863,
Starnes said. He fought in at least 21 major conflicts, including clashes at Chickamauga,
Ga., Atlanta, Ga., and Franklin, Tenn.

Earp was given a three-month furlough, and he returned to Upshur County in February 1865,
Starnes said. In April, the Civil War and Earp's military service ended. Earp died on
Oct16, 1865. He had no children. Starnes said Earp was likely sick when he returned to
Upshur County for his furlough.

He was buried near Latch, and a local legend says that he was buried in his Confederate
uniform with his sword and a gold watch, Starnes said.
The grave was vandalized, probably between 1967 and 1997, Starnes said. The uniform,
sword and watch were not found when the grave was exhumed in February by 30-person
team of members of the Upshur County Patriots-Camp 2109, a Gilmer-based group affiliated
with the Sons of the Confederacy national organization. Volunteers discovered a few
skeletal remains, two coffin nails and coffin hardware, Starnes said.
A new coffin bearing Earp's remains and soil from his former grave will be placed Friday
afternoon in a log cabin built in 1849, said Dave Ellison, an organizer of the reburial.
All mirrors in the cabin will be covered in black, as was the custom at the time of Earp's
death. Earp's coffin will be at the cabin for 24 hours and be protected day and night by
members of an honor guard, who will be dressed in Confederate uniforms.The log cabin, at
the corner of Cypress and Harrison streets in Gilmer, is adjacent to land that Earp owned,
Ellison said.

On Saturday, a formal procession will escort Earp's flag-draped coffin from the log cabin
to the Upshur County Courthouse, where a formal observance will be held.

The observance is expected to bring more than 200 people wearing military attire and
dresses from the 1860s. A Confederate honor guard, a riderless horse, mounted Confederate
re-enactors and a period-authentic fife and drum corps from the Dallas area will be
present. Speakers will discuss Earp's life.

The observance will break for lunch, and at 1:30, the coffin will be moved to Hopewell
Cemetery near FM 1795 and FM 49 in Upshur County.

Cannon and rifles will be fired in Earp's honor. Hopewell Cemetery is the burial place
of Earp's brother, Alex, a Confederate veteran and a former Upshur County sheriff.
Twenty other Confederate veterans are buried in the cemetery, and their graves will be
marked Saturday with related regimental flags.

* * *

If you go

What: Col. Cullin Redwine Earp coffin viewing

When: Noon Friday to noon Saturday

Where: Log cabin at the corner of Cypress and Harrison streets in Gilmer

If you go

What: Col. Cullin Redwine Earp reinterment

When: 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Saturday

Where: Upshur County Square in downtown Gilmer and Hopewell Cemetery near
FM 1795 and FM 49.

My notes, indicate he was Capt of Co D 10 Tex Cav before being transfered to F&S and
promoted to Lt Col then to Col.
Mike