Details:
Against the exterior wall of the cemetery.
A large obelisk made of lava stone from mount Etna. Obelisk is about 9 feet tall with an inscribed marble relief in the bottom center. The marble relief includes a weeping Columbia standing over an urn.
James S. Deblois was the Purser of the USS Constitution,"Old Ironsides", the flagship commanded by Admiral Edward Preble during the Barbary Wars, Purser Deblois died during the war and was buried in the non-Catholic cemetery of Syracuse.
From US Naval Records (Register of US Naval & Marine Corps Officer 1801-1807):
Deblois, James Smith.
Purser, May 5, 1798. Served
in U. S. S. Constitution during the Quasi-War with France; Constitution in the Mediter- ranean, 1803. Died Novem- ber 30,1803, at Syracuse.
Monument Text:
The text on the tomb is written and English and reads:
As a testimony
To which they respect the memory
Of
James S. Deblois
Purser of the
United States Ship
Constitution
Who departed this
Life at Syracuse
On 30 Nov. 1803
This
Monument is
Erected by his Brother Officers
Commemorates:
People:
Units:
United States Navy
Wars:
Barbary Wars (First and Second)
Other images :
