Burial Sites of United States Colored Troops in Adams, Franklin, and Cumberland Counties 

The Civil War, a tumultous time period in American history, had a significant impact on not just the central Pennsylvania region as a whole, but the African-American community as well.  A very informative website about Central Pennsylvania African-Americans in the Civil War wrote this: "The Civil War affected the African American community in central Pennsylvania in many ways.  Confederate invasions caused upheavals in all communities as free citizens, former fugitive slaves, and 'contrabands,' slaves who fled north as Union troops liberated their homes, scrambled to get away from advancing Rebels who they feared would capture them and take them south into slavery.  Others contributed to the war effort in many ways: by raising aid for soldiers, working in camps and hospitals, recruiting men for the new African American regiments, and by enlisting to serve in those regiments."

After the war ended, many African-Americans returned to their homes.  These people and those soldiers who died in combat would be buried in several cemeteries throughout the central Pennsylvania region.

This virtual tour has been developed by Shippensburg University graduate students in conjunction with their HIS501: Introduction to Public History course, taught by Dr. Steven Burg.  The class, in collaboration with the South Mountain Partnership, and as part of the commemoration of the Harrisburg Grand Review of African-American Civil War veterans that occurred in the Fall 2010, developed a driving tour of some of the African-American burial grounds in Central Pennsylvania containing veterans of the United States Colored Troops or other African-American regiments.  They have since turned the driving tour into a virtual tour for those who are unable to make the drive or who are students researching information online.  We hope you enjoy our virtual tour!