Fighting for the legacy of black Civil War vets

Fighting for the legacy of black Civil War vets

For Chandra Beale of Baltimore, Veteran's Day has special meaning, and with good reason. Her family can claim six generations of African-American veterans dating from the Civil War to the present. "We're proud of their service," said Beale, who has a son currently serving in the Navy, and whose paternal bloodline includes a member of the United States Colored Troops (USCT). "Not many people can say that they actually know of an ancestor who fought in the Civil War." Beale's great-grandfather John Aquilla Wilson was only 15 when he left his home in Pennsylvania to enlist in the Union Army. Historians believe the soldier was the nation's oldest living Civil War veteran when he died in 1942 at age 101. This Veteran's Day, as military personnel in Iraq, Afghanistan and other 20th Century conflicts are honored, some are also pausing to acknowledge heroes whose sacrifices centuries ago were just as significant to America. More than 180,000 African-American men from various parts of the country were part of the USCT. With the 150th anniversary of the Civil War approaching in 2011, there's been a push among descendants, historians and others to ensure their contributions aren't forgotten. "When we speak of the pride of this nation, we have to include those African-Americans who fought valiantly during the Civil War," said Lenwood Sloan, who heads cultural and heritage efforts for the state of Pennsylvania. "This is not just black history, it's American history." Sloan helped stage a recent four-day celebration in the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Uniformed regiments, re-enactors and color guards from multiple states, including North Carolina, New York, Virginia, New Jersey, Ohio, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Tennessee, marched in a grand parade that partly re-enacted an oft-forgotten historical event, known as the Pennsylvania Grand Review. On November 14, 1865, hundreds of black troops from 25 states who'd served during the Civil War, marched proudly in uniform through the streets. Local residents -- including leading black citizens of the day and white abolitionists -- rallied to praise their service to the nation. Black troops had been excluded from the Grand Review of the Armies, a gala military procession held in Washington, D.C., following the war. The irony was that even President Abraham Lincoln acknowledged the importance of black troops in the Union's ultimate victory over the southern Confederacy. "Most Americans don't know this history," said Sloan. Given the sesquicentennial of the Civil War next year, he added, "We believed it was the right time," to revisit it.