Memorial Day ceremonies were held at the Lincoln Cemetery on Sunday. The ceremonies were led by Jean Green, Chair of the Lincoln Cemetery Project Association. In introductory remarks, she explained that the small orange flags mark 136 burial sites with no headstones. These burial sites were identified with ground penetrating radar. Green reported that the organization was recently successful in raising funds to purchase a headstone for each unmarked grave.
The featured speaker was Anette Nance, executive director of Governor Shapiro’s Advisory Commission on African-American Affairs. She described the functions of her office – to gather information and assess needs in areas such as minority owned businesses, workforce development, and gun violence.
She also honored the African American World War II veterans who “in 1946 stood at the forefront of resisting segregation and lynching. They were the true beginning of the civil rights movement.”
Other speakers included Pastor David Roberts of the Amos Tabernacle Church of Christ, who gave the invocation; Council member Alisha Sanders, who read a speech written by Aaron Russell in 1873; Mayor Rita Frealing, who led the crowd in singing “Battle Hymn of the Republic;” and Park Ranger Chris Gwinn, who gave closing remarks and praised the African American soldiers who “in a time of crisis donned the Union blue and supported the proposition Lincoln had stated [that all men are created equal].
The Lincoln Cemetery, on Long Lane, was formed in 1867 by a local group of leading African American citizens, the Sons of Goodwill to ensure “the proper burial of Gettysburg’s African American citizens and Civil War veterans.” At the time, most cemeteries, even including the National Cemetery, were ‘white only.’
Leon Reed, freelance reporter, is a former US Senate staff member, defense consultant, and history teacher. He is a 10 year resident of Gettysburg, where he writes military history and explores the park and the Adams County countryside. He is the publisher at Little Falls Books, chaired the Adams County 2020 Census Complete Count Committee and is on the board of SCCAP. He and his wife, Lois, have 3 children, 3 cats, and 5 grandchildren.