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!

Mercersburg - Zion Union Cemetery

Our tour begins in Mercersburg, PA.  Located on Zion Union Lane, the Zion Union Cemetery is one of several African-American sites within the town.  It is the largest private burial site of soldiers from the famous 54th Massachusetts who fought in the Civil War.   

http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/33192

The Zion Union Cemetery, located in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, is the final resting place of at least thirty-eight African-American Civil War veterans.  The inspiring story of this community's heroic response to answer President Abraham Lincoln's call to arms can instruct all citizens about the importance of freedom and the costs that it sometimes takes to preserve it.  The African-American men and women of the Mercersburg area, who numbered approximately four hundred and twenty in the 1860 census, had already displayed their bravery and sacrifice in establishing this area as a stop on the Underground Railroad prior to the war; now the men had an opportunity to fight for their country and help to bring a halt to slavery.  Eventually eighty-eight men from this community served, many of them in the famed 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the first African-American regiment formed in the north.

Other Information
* The Mercersburg Historical Architectural Review Board produced a brochure of famous sites one can visit while in town.  It is extremely informative and provides some extensive historical information on the cemetery. 

* The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) placed a marker at the location of the cemetery in November 2009.  The text reads: In 1863, the 54th Massachusetts Regiment was among the first Civil War combat units open to African Americans.  Troops from Pennsylvania made up more than 20 percent of the acclaimed unit.  Mercersburg was second only to Philadelphia in mustering volunteers from the Commonwealth.  The valor shown by the regiment improved regard for Black soldiers and helped spur recruiting.  Of 38 USCT Civil War veterans buried here, 13 served in the 54th Mass.

* A list of the names of those soldiers who are buried at the cemetery can be found here.

Chambersburg - Mount Vernon / Lebanon Cemetery

Our next stop is at the Mount Vernon / Lebanon Cemetery, located in Chambersburg, PA.  Situated just west of Chambersburg on the historic Lincoln Highway / U.S. Route 30, the cemetery sits at the base of Radio Hill, and is the final resting place of 187 African-Americans.  The Mount Vernon Cemetery, Chambersburg, and the vast Cumberland Valley have a deep connection with the Underground Railroad and the Civil War, making this particular burial ground unique compared to other local African-American cemeteries.

http://www.hmdb.org/Photos/24/Photo24821.jpg

Of those buried on the plot, twenty-six African-American Civil War veterans are included. Each of those veterans has a marker indicating their service in the United States Military.  Unfortunately, most of these markers, due to age, are indiscernible.  The cemetery also holds the likes of Henry Watson and Joseph Winters, who were both Chambersburg businessmen involved with the Underground Railroad.  Henry Watson was a Chambersburg barber who served in the 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry during the Civil War.  He was a trusted agent of the Underground Railroad and was even a direct ally of Frederick Douglass.  Days before the Harpers Ferry Raid, Watson helped organize a secret meeting between Frederick Douglass and another Watson acquaintance, John Brown.  Brown attempted to recruit Frederick Douglass for the raid during this meeting.  Watson is also alleged to have harbored Osborne Perry Anderson, the only African-American to survive the raid, while he was on the run as a fugitive.

Joseph Winters was also active with the Underground Railroad and is said to have had a part in the meeting between Douglass and Brown.  While there is no exact historical record of Winters' direct involvement, he is credited for receiving a patent for the fire escape ladder.

While Mt. Vernon Cemetery is home to many faded markers and monuments, it still holds a vital capsule of Civil War remembrance and is a direct link to the sacrifices made by African-Americans throughout Franklin County for the cause of freedom.

Other Information
* Just recently, in October 2009, Mount Vernon Cemetery was designated as a site in the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program, administered by the National Park Service/U.S. Department of the Interior.  You can read an article from the "pressroom" here.

* A list of those buried at the cemetery can be found here.

Shippensburg - Locust Grove Cemetery

Just up the road from Chambersburg is Shippensburg, PA, a small college town.  Shippensburg is the home of Locust Grove Cemetery, which is located on the 100 block of North Queen Street.  Locust Grove Cemetery was also the site of the first African-American church in Shippensburg, the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Locust Grove Cemetery is a small but significant site in the African-American history of central Pennsylvania.  The cemetery originated as a burial place for enslaved and freed blacks and continued to be the only public cemetery that allowed Africans to be laid to rest there until the twentieth century.  It currently is the final resting place of at least seventy-six African-Americans, including forty-seven veterans, forty-two from segregated units, who fought in almost every American war.  Twenty-three of those forty-seven veterans fought in the Civil War and include troops from the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, as part of the United States Colored Troops.  This cemetery has been a part of the African-American history of Shippensburg from circa 1781 to the present-day and remains the site for the annual African American Memorial Day program, held yearly at this site since the 1920s.  The Locust Grove Cemetery tells the story of the African American struggle from enslavement to freedom and the brave men who fought for the cause. 

Other Information
* An informative website with more detailed information on the history of the cemetery and the people who are buried there can be found here.

* A list of those buried at this cemetery can be found here.

* The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission placed a marker in 2007 noting the site of Shippensburg's first African-American church and cemetery.  The text reads: Burial ground for slaves and free blacks since the early 19th century and site of Shippensburg's first African American church, established 1830s.  Edward Shippen Burd granted the land to Shippensburg’s African American community in 1842.  It was the only public cemetery open to African Americans in the area until the late 20th century. Graves of veterans from the Civil War to the Vietnam conflict include those of twenty-six Civil War soldiers. 

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM3DMW

Newville - Newville Cemetery

Just up the road from Shippensburg, off Interstate-81, is Newville, PA.  The Newville Cemetery is a showcase of how a small town cares for its many ancestors, including those who served and fought for freedom in our country's conflicts.

The cemetery serves as a burial ground for both non-veterans and veterans.  Six of those buried there have the distinction of being United States Colored Troops from the Civil War , one served in the Spanish-American War, two served in World War II, two served for the Mexican Border Service, and one served in Vietnam (he just recently died in 2003). Many of these individuals had long lives, living into their seventies or eighties.

To the far right of the entrance is a segregated section from a past time.  In this section there appears to be two veterans from the 25th PA Regiment and one each from the 6th Cavalry Regiment, 10th, 25th, 43rd,  and 45th infantry regiments of the USCT from the Civil War.  A notable feature is the lack of standard issue military headstones.  The stones are private purchased and of good quality.  A few are even grand in design and size.

The stones need some repair and restoration.  The normal weathering, lichen, and other wear is moderate at the site.  However, this site has been well cared for and well respected.

Carlisle - Lincoln Cemetery Memorial Park

After leaving Newville, our next stop will be Carlisle, PA, where you can find what was once the Lincoln Cemetery.  The Lincoln Cemetery Memorial Park, located at 101 West Penn Street, was an African-American burial ground dating from before the Civil War, making it one of the oldest cemeteries on the tour.

Approximately one hundred people were interred at the cemetery between 1840 and 1902, many of whom who were veterans of the Civil War.  Unfortunately, in the early 1970s, as part of an urban renewal program, Carlisle sought a location for a neighborhood playground.  The location that was selected was the Lincoln Cemetery Memorial Park.  After negotiations and community meetings, it was decided to move the tombstones to Union Cemetery, another burial ground in Carlisle.  The Lincoln Cemetery Memorial Park is now the James Young Memorial Park.  There is a monument located at the former site of the Lincoln Memorial Park commemorating the people that were interred there.

Carlisle - Union Cemetery

Also located in Carlisle, PA is Union Cemetery, located west of Franklin Street at the end of G Street in Carlisle.  This cemetery was opened after an earlier cemetery, the Lincoln Cemetery Memorial Park, was in the process of being closed.  Despite seeing headstones at this particular cemetery, there are actually no bodies buried underneath those headstones.  The bodies remain in the area of the former Lincoln Cemetery Memorial Park.

The Union Cemetery was established in 1905 because the African-American community of Carlisle wanted to ensure that they had sole control over this cemetery.  The location for this cemetery was the former Thompson Woods, which belonged to Robert Thompson.

The Union Cemetery is divided into five sections.  Sections A and B contain two hundred and ten lots, Section C contains one hundred and eighteen lots, and Sections D and E are located at the front and back ends of the cemetery.  The Union Cemetery was owned and operated by the Thompson family for over seventy-five years.  There are over three hundred tombstones in the Union Cemetery, including the tombstones moved from their former location at the Lincoln Cemetery.  There are veterans interred here from every war the United States fought in since 1860.

Other Information
* If you make the trip to Carlisle, be sure to check out the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission marker located at the Bethel A.M.E. Church, at 131 East Pomfret Street.

http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=19430

As both the former Lincoln Cemetery and Union Cemetery are rich in African-American history, so is this particular church.  The text reads: Among the earliest (c. 1820) African American congregations located west of the Susquehanna River.  The site of Underground Railroad activity.  Abolitionists John Peck and John B. Vashon were members.  A.M.E. national Bishops Daniel Payne and Wills Nazrey were associated with the church.

The church's website has a nice history of the congregation; read it here.

T0 continue the tour, click here.