Students Uncover African-American Civil War History

[Blue_Tires]

Shippensburg, Pa. - Students at one local college are finding a rare piece of history very close to home.

Dr. Steven Burg's Theory and Practice of History class at Shippensburg University is researching a group of 50 African-American Civil War soldiers buried in Franklin County.

"In 1863, African-American units began to form and they served in units under white officers,” said Burg. “Some experienced really brutal battles like the Battle of Fort Wagner."

The soldiers are buried at the Lebanon and Mount Vernon cemeteries in Chambersburg. They all survived the war, and later returned to Pennsylvania.

“A lot of them were illiterate and a lot of them were born in slavery,” said Burg. “And for some of these men, nothing in their life was documented."

But for some, there are a few things on record and Burg’s students are finding them.

“I found Census numbers and I went to the National Archives to locate (my soldier’s) pension file,” said junior Emily Knight.

“(My soldier) has two widows that are claiming on his pension file, so I'm still trying to find out who's the real Mrs. Ramsey,” said junior Jonathan Wolfe.

While many questions may never be answered, Burg’s class says they hope their project will serve as a reminder of what these men achieved. Their last stop will be to their soldier's grave site.

“Right now everything is just paperwork so for me I haven't made the connection yet that this is real and occurred right in Shippensburg's backyard,” said Wolfe.

http://www.whtm.com/news/stories/0410/721755.html