Captain Cortlandt Van Rensselaer

This sarcophagus-style monument on the South Ridge marks the grave of Captain Cortlandt Van Rensselaer.

The lichen-spotted sandstone is carved with laurel wreaths at each end and a sword above the names of some of the Civil War battles that Captain Van Rensselaer fought in - Vicksburg, Chickamauga, and Mission Ridge.

Captain Van Rensselaer was the son and namesake of Rev. Cortlandt Van Rensselaer and Catherine Ledyard Cogswell.  His father was well-known for his missionary work among slaves in Virginia prior to the Civil War.

Born in 1838 in Burlington, New Jersey where his father was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, the younger Cortlandt Van Rensselaer served in the 13th U.S. Infantry before his death on October 7, 1864 of wounds received at Mission Ridge.  He was twenty-six.

Captain Van Rensselaer was also a descendent of William Paterson.