The Gilmer was built by slave labor some years before the war, and was
in its day considered a very handsome edifice. Nor is it to-day an
unsatisfactory hotel for a town of the size of Columbus. Its old brick
walls are sturdy, and its rooms are of a fine spaciousness. Downstairs
it has been somewhat remodeled, but the large parlor on the second floor
is much as it was in the beginning, even to the great mirrors and the
carved furniture imported more than sixty years ago from France. Most of
the doors still have the old locks, and the window cords originally
installed were of such a quality that they have not had to be renewed.
The Gilmer was still new when the Battle of Shiloh was fought, and
several thousand of the wounded were brought to Columbus. The hotel and
various other buildings, including that of the former Female Institute,
were converted into hospitals, as were also many private houses in the
town.
Though there was never fighting at Columbus, the end of the war found
some fifteen hundred soldiers' graves in Friendship Cemetery, perhaps
twoscore of the number being those of Federals. The citizens were, at
this time, too poor and too broken in spirit to erect memorials, but
several ladies of Columbus made it their custom to visit the cemetery
and care for the graves of the Confederate dead.
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