May 13, 1855 - September 3, 1862

The inscription on the stone reads:

The summons came forth and she died.
Yet her parting was gentle, for those
Whom she loved mingled tears at her side.
Her death was dear Rosa's repose;
Out weakness may weep o'er her bier,
But her spirit has gone on the wing
To triumph for agony here,
To rejoice in the joy of her king.

Rosalie Beekman was 7 years old when the Union gunboat U.S.S. Essex bombarded Natchez on September 2, 1862.

Her parents, Aaron and Fanny Beekman, operated a business on Silver Street in the Under-the-Hill district. (Natchez is situated on a very high bluff that overlooks the river. Silver Street runs down the bluff to the banks of the river.)

When the family ran for shelter from the cannons, Rosalie was hit and fell to the ground. When her father called to her to get up and run, she replied, "I can't, Papa, I'm killed."

She died the next day.

Rosalie Beekman became the only person to die from hostile action in Natchez during the Civil War.