The City of Hopkinsville has halted an archaeologist to conduct further research at Riverside Cemetery after discovering the burial site of more than 200 Confederate soldiers.
William Meacham, a longtime archaeologist who now lives in Hong Kong, spent 16 years and thousands of dollars to uncover the grave sites.
In October 2015, NewsChannel 5 followed him after finding a metal coffin and a gunpowder storage building.
Hopkinsville had a civil war encampment about 2,000 soldiers strong with men from Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas and Mississippi. Several hundred of them died from disease, but no one knew where all of them were buried until more than a year ago.
After discovering 12 rows of graves with remains of more than 100 soldiers, Meacham said more work needs to be done to find the dozens of other graves and further study what could be a well-preserved corpse.
Meacham wanted to return to Hopkinsville to dig the cemetery once again but Hopkinsville Mayor Carter Hendricks notified him that the city is no longer interested in further research.
Larry Walston of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a preservation group, requested for the mayor to stop the project to keep the cemetery from being excavated again.
"Give these fellas a break, how many times are we going to dig them up?" Walston asked. "We are not anti science but respect for the dead has to come in there somewhere."
Walston said he has no issues with Meacham's project, in fact he was elated to learn about the discovery. He told NewsChannel 5 that he did not expect it to happen a second time.
"We thought it was the end of it. We're trying to protect these soldiers," Walston added.
Meacham wanted to not only discover the unaccounted graves but also identify the soldiers.
In a letter to the council, Meacham said the mayor's decision was backwards and outrageous claiming he conducted the project in a respectful manner.
He included letters from the descendants of the soldiers who wish for the project to continue.
The Hopkinsville city administrator said city council will determine a final decision in the next coming months.
