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 However the Ellison family and their descendants never forgot the cemetery. In 1992, an article in the Reporter records a family gathering and clean up day. “Fifty descendants gathered May 9 at old Corinth Baptist Church Cemetery to reclaim the beauty and serenity of an old Chilton County hillside where many of the area’s settlers are buried. […] Burnett, Ellison, Jones, Porter and Vanderslice are the predominate names listed on the tombstones. Family members with a wide range of surnames came together with weed eaters, rakes, chainsaws, and hoes to restore the orderly sacred appearance that these ancestors would have appreciated Many friendships were rekindled and remembrances of older days were shared by the eldest family members present, Mrs. Sally Ellison Martin and Mrs. Katie Ellison Porter.” The Ellison Cemetery holds the remains of at least two Confederate veterans: John Ellison who served with the 25th Alabama Regiment and Samuel L. Ellison who served with the 63rd Alabama Regiment. A memorial stone for Josiah Ellison who served in the 25th Alabama Regiment with his uncle, John Ellison has been placed in the cemetery but Josiah himself is buried on the battlefield at Shiloh. 
Josiah Ellison died in the first charge at the Battle of Shiloh. His commander General Johnston was also killed that day in battle. Two days later the new Confederate commander, General P. G. T. Beauregard sent a message to General Grant asking for permission to claim the bodies of the Confederate dead. Grant replied, “Owing to the warmth of the weather I deemed it advisable to have all the dead of both parties buried immediately. Heavy details were made for this purpose and now it is accomplished.” Josiah was buried in a mass grave on the battlefield, along with almost all the other Confederate soldiers who died at Shiloh. When Josiah died the CSA still owed him wages which his father claimed. In one letter, which was part of the claim, a Lieutenant in Josiah’s company described him as “five feet eight inches high, dark complexion, dark eyes, black hair, and by profession, a farmer.” John and Samuel Ellison served and fought in battles whose names echo down to us from the history lessons of our childhoods; Murfreesboro, the Battle of Mobile and Spanish Fort. Taken prisoner, they were held at Ship Island and Vicksburg POW camps. Philip Ellison, buried at the Ellison Cemetery, was supposed to have served in a Mississippi regiment. However records have not confirmed this. If you have evidence of Philip’s service in any armed forces please let us know so we can order his veteran’s headstone. This cemetery has been registered with the Alabama Historical Commission. Download a diagram of this cemetery
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