You probably didn’t know that Illinois is home to the largest mass gravesite in all the of Americas. The final resting place of thousands of soldiers, Confederate Mound in Chicago carries a harrowing history that is like something out of horror movie.

Perhaps not for the faint of heart, this chilling tale is full of many sorts of death. Read on if you dare:

Confederate Mound is a mass gravesite that is thought to hold about 6,000 bodies. The names of the known buried (about 4,200) are listed all around the sides of the monument, and then there are 12 individual grave markers to commemorate unknown soldiers who found their final resting place here.
TripAdvisor/JohnTheBear
The Civil War was a time of terror and violence. Confederate prisoners were kept at Camp Douglas, an overcrowded training camp where they met many different fates.
Wikimedia Commons/Daniel Schwen

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Due to the proximity to Lake Michigan, the winter got extremely cold, and many soldiers died of diseases like scurvy and dysentery. Others were shot as punishment by cruel guards. In part because of this, the camp was nicknamed "80 Acres of Hell."
Wikimedia Commons/True Williams
Originally, the soldiers were buried in the Chicago City Cememtery, but when it flooded, the bodies had to be moved to Oak Woods Cemetery in 1866.
Wikimedia Commons/John Cox Underwood
Not much commemorated this mass gravesite until 1893 when this 30-foot memorial was placed over it. At the very top of the monument is a statue of a somber soldier, and in addition to the 12 markers circling it, there is also a pyramid of cannonballs and an old cannon sitting nearby.
TripAdvisor/Danda0624
Confederate Mound is located in the southwest corner of the cemetery and is hard to miss.

Oak Wood Cemetery is located at 1035 E 67th St., Chicago, IL 60637 and is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day.

For more eerie spots around the state, check out these 13 haunted landmarks in Illinois for the ultimate ghost hunter.

If you’ve ever visited this mass gravesite, we’d love to hear from you. Share your experiences with us below in the comments.

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