BALTIMORE — A tribute to more than 1,100 Civil War troops buried in Loudon Park National Cemetery in Baltimore along with their contributions to a country slow to recognize them.
“I’m glad to see these individual gravesites, because in many cases, the USCT or the colored soldiers were buried in mass graves,” said Janice Curtis Greene of the Maryland Commission on African-American History.
Organizers say 187,000 soldiers of color served in 75 regiments and more than three dozen major engagements.
“I think it’s just rediscovering the history,” said the cemetery’s director, Eric Solomon, “President Lincoln, himself, credited black troops with a lot of bravery in their battles they were engaged in. In fact, 16 USCT troops were recipients of the Medal of Honor.”
Before the Civil War, those who died in battle for this country were actually buried where they fell, but in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln changed all of that.
He spearheaded an effort buying land and creating 14 national cemeteries where they could be interred, including the one in Baltimore.
Now, as a nation reflects on ‘all’ of those who died in service to this country, there’s a special effort to do just that.
“We don’t want to re-write history,” said Curtis Greene, “We just want to open the doors for people to see the entire history of this country and all the people who made this country what it is.”
