In 1892, U.S. Colored Troops who died in battle and in service were excluded from the Adams County Soldiers Memorial monument, which commemorated county residents who died in service during the Civil War.
In 2026, they will be forgotten no longer.
A new wayside marker created by Historic Gettysburg Adams County-HGAC will recognize the service and sacrifice of those Adams County residents who served in the USCT during the Civil War. The marker, which will be placed in front of the G.A.R. Building, represents a long overdue public acknowledgment and a corrective to the 1892 omission.
HGAC will host a public dedication ceremony on Sunday, November 15, to unveil the wayside marker honoring the free black men of Adams County who served in the USCT. The ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. at the G.A.R. Building located at 53 E. Middle Street, Gettysburg.
The ceremony will feature Captain Edward W. Gantt, USN (Ret.), a respected USCT historian and longtime reenactor associated with the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, as keynote speaker. Additional reflections will be offered by Tim Hodge, a reenactor portraying Maj. Martin Robeson Delany, the highestranking Black field officer during the Civil War; Jean HowardGreen, president of Gettysburg’s Lincoln Cemetery Project Association, and Ross Hetrick, portraying Thaddeus Stevens.
Together, these speakers will provide historical context on the contributions of black soldiers from Adams County and the significance of their inclusion in the public memory of the Civil War. The Emancipation Proclamation, signed by President Lincoln in 1863, not only established freedom for enslaved black Americans living in Confederate states, but also authorized the United States government to allow black Americans to serve in the military. On May 22, 1863, the War Department issued General Order No. 143 to form black regiments, which were designated as United States Colored Troops, or USCT.
Adams County USCT soldiers fought in battle and served in Virginia, North and South Carolina, Florida and Texas — B. Harvey Williams fought with the famed 54th Massachusetts and was killed in the assault on Fort Wagner, S.C. Fleming Devan, John Johnston and Joseph Nellis were killed in the battle of Olustree in Florida. Joseph R. Smith was killed at Petersburg, Va. and Charles H. Gibson was killed in action at New Market Heights, Va.
By placing this wayside marker at the G.A.R. Hall—an enduring symbol of Union veterans’ memory—HGAC seeks to broaden the narrative of Adams County’s Civil War history and ensure that the contributions of free black soldiers are publicly honored. The November 15 ceremony is open to the public but seating at the G.A.R. hall may be limited.
HGAC wishes to thank those whose research made this way marker possible – Jean Howard-Green of the Lincoln Cemetery Project Association, Tim Smith of Adams County Historical Society and Deb McCauslin of Yellow Hill.