On Saturday, a granite marker was unveiled in Lignum, Virginia dedicated to the memory of three members of the United States Colored Troops (USCT) captured nearby and executed by 9th Virginia Cavalry troops on May 8, 1864. The men were executed near Madden’s Tavern during the opening moves of the Overland Campaign.
According to a story posted by the Piedmont Environmental Council:
“We don’t know their identities, nor do we know precisely where they’re buried, but we know what happened and that they lay nearby. This is dedicated to those men, who made the ultimate sacrifice. This will be the first site dedicated to United States Colored Troops (USCT) in Culpeper County, arguably the most fought-over county during the entire Civil War,” said Howard Lambert, founder and president of The Freedom Foundation of Virginia, and for whom this memorial is a years-long labor of love.
Lambert describes Culpeper County as a kind of ground zero in the story of the United States Colored Troops, as many who were formerly enslaved went north and returned to the place of their enslavement to fight for the Union cause. “They could have stayed free and enjoyed all the privileges thereof, but these men decided to join the Union army and come back as proud soldiers in blue to fight to free people who were still in bondage, knowing that if they were captured, they would be given no quarter, but would be lined up and shot, which is obviously what happened here near Madden’s Tavern,” he said.
In addition to the monument, an historic marker commemorating the USCT was also placed. The new marker reads:
“U.S. Colored Troops in the Overland Campaign: On 5 May 1864, thousands of United States Colored Troops entered Culpeper County at Kelly’s Ford, six miles southeast of here, marking the first time Black troops served alongside the Army of the Potomac. These men, including some who had escaped slavery in Culpeper and nearby counties, served in the 19th, 23rd, 27th, 30th, 39th, and 43rd USCT and the 30th Connecticut Colored Infantry, which made up the 4th Division of IX Corps. After a brief stay in Culpeper County, the troops marched south across the Rapidan River to join Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign. While in Culpeper, at least three Black soldiers were captured by Confederates and summarily executed along the roadside.”
Confederate William Boyd described the murder in his diary on May, 8, 1864, writing that; “We captured three Negro soldiers, the first we had seen…They were taken out on the road side and shot and their bodies left there.”
According to newly retired National Park Service historian John Hennessey: “The State historical markers are a constant reminder that history is all around us in Virginia. The arrival of the United States Colored Troops at the front in Culpeper in 1864 was a milestone moment—and one fraught with heightened danger for those new soldiers, as the marker’s text indicates. This marker is a gateway to a much bigger story—one that reverberated across the nation and through generations.” 120 local residents enlisted in the USCT according to historian Zann Nelson.
Two other panels at the site tell the story of Willis Madden, a free Black man who operated a tavern nearby, and the Ebenezer Baptist Church
Note: Feature photo from Washington Post shows markers and monument before unveiling. Thanks to Joe Lefleur for allowing me to use his photos of the ceremony.
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It is so good to see that, incrementally, the full story of the Civil War is starting to be told. These steps aren’t white washing history, they’re actually scrubbing away the original effort to white wash the war/slavery via the mythology of the Lost Cause. At its core, the War was over slavery and white supremacy. Why else were these soldiers executed?