Tega Cay, SC (Tega Cay Sun) – Did you know there is a small cemetery in Tega Cay? At the entrance of the Windhaven development on Tega Cay Drive, there is a small cemetery with five gravesites. Two of the graves belong to brothers who fought for the Confederacy and died in the Civil War.
Private Sylvester Caton and Private Elijah Caton both served with Bravo Company of the 53rd North Carolina Regiment and were killed in 1864 and 1865 respectively. The history of Bravo Company shows the soldiers were recruited from Mecklenburg County, NC in 1862. The 53rd regiment was actively involved in various conflicts, spanning from Gettysburg to Cold Harbor. It played a crucial role in all the battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley and also contributed significantly during the Appomattox Campaign. In the Battle of Gettysburg, the regiment faced a significant loss, with thirty-six percent of its 322 engaged soldiers falling in combat. The company served as part of the Army of Northern Virginia and ultimately surrendered six officers and eighty-one enlisted men at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.
Also buried at the cemetery are Louiser Caton, wife of Sylvester Caton, Joseph Thomas, and a child of one of the brothers.
