Phase I of Danville, Virginia’s project looking for the burial locations of the city’s formerly enslaved African American population has been completed. Ground penetrating radar has located 418 unmarked graves in the city’s Freedman’s Cemetery established after Danville’s Black population was rescued from slavery by the Union Army at the end of the Civil War. Before the war, there were no cemeteries in Danville that buried Blacks. After the war, only the Freedmen’s Cemetery accepted Black bodies.
Danville began the project in 2021. When graves are located a stainless steel marker is placed over the grave with a unique identifier. It is believed that 2,000 African Americans are buried in the large cemetery, but many of the graves are unmarked. The city is beginning Phase II of this project seeking to locate additional graves. A history of the cemetery is also being prepared.
While the cemetery was established during Reconstruction, the city-owned property was neglected after Blacks lost the right to vote. Grave stones were removed and the locations of burials were lost.
Follow Reconstruction Blog on Social Media:
