This year for Juneteenth, we thought we would celebrate by introducing our USCT soldiers & sailors (and one nurse)! These slides were part of the larger slideshow we did for the 160th commemoration of Gettysburgh where we used that opportunity to highlight all 88 of our Civil War soldiers & sailors. However, we thought today we would bring these slides back out to introduce you again, or perhaps for the first time, to our black soldiers, sailors, and the nurse.
They all have these rich life stories to tell and left legacies that were passed down through their living family members to us or were pieced together through genealogical or military records. We will endeavor to ensure that their stories and struggles will continue to be shared with future generations so that the importance of history and what they fought for is never lost.
Click the little square thing on the far right bottom to open the presentation in a new window for a blown-up view where you can read it better. Enjoy!
We also added sashes this year to their headstones to designate them for a few days. We thought they looked very snazzy. (Aside from realizing that we really need to re-clean some of them since it’s been a few years now!)
Also, since you’re here, please take the chance if you haven’t to read one of our very first posts on Pvt. William H Halsey who was a victim of a vicious bounty broker. He and his brother Ansolem were both USCT members. Or read about Henry “Harry” Bruein who escaped the horrors of enslavement in the South to rebuild a life in the North and establish a long line of military descendants in his wake.
The Washingtonville Cemetery 