Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Eighteen Black Confederates to be Honored in Pulaski, Tennessee



A marker dedication for 18 black Confederates at Maplewood Cemetery is scheduled next weekend in Pulaski.

Members of the Gen. John C. Brown Camp #112, Sons of Confederate Veterans, raised money to buy markers. They needed $2,500 and have raised most of it.

Officials at Maplewood Cemetery offered a plot for the markers — a section with unmarked graves that would not be used for burials. It is at the start of the cemetery’s black section where five of the 18 men are buried.

A tribute will be read to each man at the dedication service. Cathy Wood with the Daughters of the Confederacy, has collected death certificates, obituaries and whatever else she could find along with the pension records. Little is known about some of them, but descendants of four have been found.

The flat granite markers will give each man’s name, date of birth, unit and where he is buried. Wood would like to enclose the plot with a wrought iron fence to call attention to the memorial markers.

The November 8th service will be a traditional UDC ritual, like a military funeral. The ceremony will be open to the public.

To see the story on the WKSR website go here:  http://www.wksr.com/wksr.php?rfc=src/article.html&id=22400
Posted by at 5:03 AM

4 comments:

  1. What is the documented proof that these men were actually confederate soldiers and not slaves?

    Corey
    ReplyDelete
  2. I didn't write the article, Corey. I just reprinted it. However, in another article on the same topic it listed the men's names and more details about each of them, such as Confederate pension records, etc. That article was much longer and I didn't feel it would fit the space in my blog as well.

    Also, both free and slave blacks served in the Confederate army. The fact that a person was a slave did not necessarily make him any less a soldier. Many slaves begged to become Confederate soldiers and gladly volunteered to defend their homes from the invading Yankee army. Many of these were granted their freedom in exchange for their service.

    Also, you must remember that there were more free blacks in the South than in the North - especially states like Illinois where harsh, restrictive anti-black laws kept most of them out of the state.
    ReplyDelete
  3. You might find this article interesting:

    http://rebelhistory.blogspot.com/

    I'm sure someone will say the Confederate veterans are "remembering" something wrong.
    ReplyDelete
  4. C.Meyer-
    "What is the documented proof that these men were actually confederate soldiers and not slaves?"

    What's the problem?

    Neither Mr. Conn nor the article cited called them soldiers.
    ReplyDelete

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