Articles

Monuments honor the Blacks who wore gray

BY LISA HOFBAUER Of The Post and Courier Staff

Agnes Corbett always knew that her hometown of Camden had once had its share of Confederate soldiers. What she didn't know was that some of  them were Black. Corbett, the director of the Camden Archives, learned about  the town's Black veterans when her organization decided to survey local cemeteries and document the names of everyone who fought in the Civil War. When she learned of a tombstone at a Black church that had a Confederate States of America seal on it, she was amazed. "That is a part of our history that has not been brought    to the surface. Nobody has researched it," Corbett said. "We didn't even know    about it until we did the survey." Memorials to Blacks who served in the Confederacy    are rare, but not unheard of. Though the debate rages on about the Confederate    battle flag atop the statehouse in Columbia and the Confederate monument in    Walterboro, many people haven't learned about the role that southern Blacks    played in the Civil War. At least two Black Confederate monuments exist in South    Carolina, and several others can be found in other states. One monument in Darlington    is dedicated to Henry Dad Brown, a drummer for the Confederate troops who, according    to Darlington resident and historian Horace Rudisell, was not allowed to carry    a firearm because of his race. Brown was able to draw a Confederate pension    after the war, however, and was said to be highly respected in town because    he had served. The monumnent was erected shortly after Brown's death in 1907.    Rudisell said that the monument used to be kept up by a local Black teacher    until the county offered to maintain it. Darlington County also had 10 to 12    other Black men who were body servants, or valets, to soldiers and who also    drew CSA pensions. The Darlington Historical society is trying to determine    the burial sites of those men so they can erect a monument honoring them. Another    Black Confederate monument was erected in 1895 in Fort Mill. That monument is    dedicated to the Confederate slaves who helped protect and defend the women    and children left alone during the war. The granite obelisk has carvings of    Blacks on its sides along with the names of roughly 15 slaves. Two other monuments,    one dedicated to the women and children and a third for the Catawba Indians    who fought for the Confederacy, stand on the same site. William J. Bradford,    the unofficial but widely respected town historian and former editor of the    Fort Mill Times, said that even locally it has been underappreciated. Since    the monument belongs to the people of Fort Mill and not the county, funds aren't    available to keep it in top condition. "We have always felt that it should receive    more attention than it has," Bradford said. "It hasn't been vandalized, but    it hasn't been kept up. None of them have been preserved as they should have    been." A monument that honors a Black Confederate soldier killed in battle also    exists in Canton, Miss. Efforts to bring to light the Black's role in the Civil    War continue - and from some unlikely sources. Several chapters of the Sons    of the Confederate Veterans are trying to identify Blacks who fought in the    war. Terrell's Texas Calvalry 34th Regiment, a Confederate reenactment group    with members in several states, is raising funds for a monument to Confederate    soldiers of color. They plan to erect the monument in Richmond, Va., where the    White House of the Confederacy still stands. According to John Danylchuck, captain    of a 34th Texas Calvary unit in Killeen, Texas, some reenactors have trouble    believing that there were Black and Hispanic soldiers in the Confederate Army.    Danylchuck recalled one incident in which his unit was asked to reenact a battle    for a television miniseries. After he and two other men - one of whom was Black    - went to meet with the casting director, Danylchuck got a strange phone call.    "(The director) said, `Yeah, we'd like to have all you guys - but not the Black    guy,' " Danylchuck recalled. When asked if he knew why that happened, he said,    "I know why. They don't want to see Black people wearing gray." Many historians    agree that Blacks did play a role in the Confederate army. According to the    Appomattox Courthouse National Historic Site, 36 Black Confederates were among    those who surrendered to the Union army at Appomatox Courthouse in Virginia    on April 9, 1865. Most were teamsters, guards, cooks or musicians. Historians    estimate the total number of Black men who sided with the Confederates either    as laborers or soldiers range anywhere from 60,000 to 90,000. James Eaton, a    professor at Florida A & M University who studies Black Confederates, explained    why those men might have joined the cause. He said that one reason many of them    did so because they were afraid their lives would be more difficult if they    didn't. "Some of them were promised their freedom if they fought. Others went    out of loyalty for their masters, and stayed with them in times of trouble,"    Eaton said. "Black men did fight on both sides," he continued. "There's been    a whole lot of credible work done about the side of the Union, but we have not    given any scholarly research to the Confederate side."

Letter to the editor in The Post and Courier Sunday March 26, 2000

     I am requesting assistance from The Post and Courier, the NAACP, and Kweisi Mfume, Vice President Gore and Mayor Joe Riley to correct a very serious matter that has existed for many years as an afront to many Southerners.
    There has been no concern shown for the terrible injuries and suffering done to us and our ancestors, the economic and emotional damage to South Carolina and anguish caused by this person and his followers.
     General William T. Sherman was the Union Army terrorist who attacked unarmed women and Children, burned homes, stole livestock, valubles, and food and shelled open cities.  He stole, pillaged and burned property owned by my family.  He also caused the death of my grandmother's eight year old brother.  There is a statue to him in the District of Columbia and Sherman Park in Prince George County, Md near Annapolis rd, route 450.
     Since all of you have shown so much concern about the resurrection of unpleasant memories and removing the symbols that represent this era, I am sure that you would be willing to use your influence to have this statue removed and to rename Sherman Park.
     Since Kweisi Mfume is a former Congressman from Maryland, he could be very influential in helping to correct this affront to the people of South Carolina and to the nation.  This would be appropriate for a nation that condemns the act of terrorists instead of glorifying them.
     I thank all of you in advance for your assistance in this matter as this would be consistent with your past statements and actions taken to support others who have expressed feellings about symbols they consider offensive.  After all as Gov Jim Hodges has said, "It's the right thing to do."

John T. Stephens Jr.

I'll add more articles as I find them. If you have suggestions    send web address or copy to rmetts@yahoo.com