The summer program of “Taps at Sunset,” which took place at Gettysburg’s Lincoln Cemetery every Sunday night since Memorial Day, came to an end for the season Sunday night.
Therese Orr, a board member of the Lincoln Fellowship, spoke briefly before “Taps” was played. Each night, a different U.S. Colored Troops veteran buried in the cemetery is honored. The Lincoln Cemetery was created because colored troops were “segregated in death,” denied opportunities for burial in all-white national cemeteries. Lincon Cemetery allowed these veterans to be “buried with honor and dignity.”
The ceremony honored David Stevens of Gettysburg, who served in the 22nd Colored Infantry, served with the XVIII Corps in the Army of the James, and was wounded in an assault on the Dimick Line, part of the defenses of Richmond. (Joseph Craig of Gettysburg was also wounded in the same assault.) After 7 months’ recovery, he rejoined his outfit in Texas. After the war, he returned to Gettysburg and worked as a waiter.
Ms. Orr also took note of the new “Unknown” grave markers, which were installed on Juneteenth this year over previously unmarked graves that were known to contain human remains.
The ceremonies are co-sponsored by the Lincoln Cemetery Project Association, chaired by Jean Green, and the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, chaired by Wendy Allen. After the ceremony, Allen and Orr presented flowers to Jean Green to thank her for her work
Taps was played by trumpeter Russ Ebersole, from Mt. Vernon, NY.
