New memorial pays tribute to civil war's black soldiers

Latimes

New memorial pays tribute to civil war's black soldiers"


Play all audios:

Loading...

Janice Lorenz, of Lanham, Md., never spent time studying her family tree. Then she heard a lecture a year ago on the suffering of the forgotten black soldiers of the Civil War and efforts to


build a national memorial to them in the District of Columbia. “I made a connection,” she said. “Although I knew we had Civil War soldiers in the family, we had never stopped to think of


their sacrifice.” Life for Lorenz and her husband, Blake, has rapidly expanded to include research at the National Archives, weekend trips to military cemeteries and visits to out-of-state


relatives to look through family records and photos. Their work has rewarded them with a dining room table full of military discharge and pension records, wedding certificates and family


portraits. Janice Lorenz’s great-grandfathers on her mother’s and father’s sides not only fought in several battles but survived to marry and rear families. Their names will be on the


$2-million memorial, which will be the first national memorial dedicated to black servicemen who fought for the Union and their white officers. When construction bids came in $400,000 higher


than expected, D.C. Council Member Frank Smith Jr. pushed the groundbreaking back from last year to this month. There was also a design crisis. Smith had asked the National Park Service


employees responsible for creating a master computer list for all Civil War servicemen to compile the black soldiers’ names first. John Peterson, project manager for the Civil War Soldiers


and Sailors System, said they were glad to help. But when Smith was given the list, he saw 56,000 more names than the 185,000 anticipated. Smith said they didn’t want to add plaques for


design reasons and didn’t want to have the names printed too small to be read. Peterson said they considered several options to reduce the list without compromising the official military


records. They knew the list was much greater than the actual number of veterans because of duplications and errors. Then they found more than 800 men named George Washington. “Washington was


held in high regard by Northerners and Southerners and blacks and whites,” said Edward Smith, an American University professor and Civil War authority. Peterson said they reduced to one


name any multiple George Washingtons in a regiment; each such pruning will be noted. Then they went through the 138 regiments of United States Colored Troops as well as state regiments


looking for duplicate records and for those who served in more than one regiment. “Although that number still exceeds the number of people who actually fought, we bent over backward not to


eliminate any names where there was a question,” Peterson said. Frank Smith said he has “shoehorned” in the extra names. Peterson said the names will appear on the memorial exactly as they


were written in the early 1900s, when more than 5 million file cards were transcribed from original military records. An error made by a clerk then will not be corrected. If a man used an


alias--and many did for protection from slave masters--the alias appearing in the records is used. That issue has become emotional for descendants who want the right name on the memorial,


Peterson said. “The stories are poignant, and I feel sorry for them. . . . But we have to answer that we can’t make changes on a case-by-case basis. We have to rely on the historical


consistency reflected in the National Archives records.” Janice Lorenz found that the records for her great-grandfathers Whitfield Ross and James Kelly were incorrect. Whitfield will appear


as Whitefield and Kelly as William Turner, the alias he used. “We begged and pleaded with them to make the names right, but they just won’t do it,” Lorenz said. However, the Lorenzes say


what is most important is that long-dead ancestors are no longer just names. “The odds were against them, and they survived,” Janice Lorenz said. “And that is what is meaningful about our


research. They are real heroes and real people now.” MORE TO READ


Trending News

William pledges to serve with 'humility and great respect'

William and Kate, both 40, will continue with their campaigning work on issues such as the mental health crisis facing y...

Westgold breathes new life into historic Cue mine

Westgold breathes new life into historic Cue mineMark IrvingSponsoredTue, 23 May 2023 3:18PMCamera IconCore from a Lower...

Camarillo fire: 'be prepared to evacuate,' officials warn residents

Residents near a 100-acre fire burning along the 101 Freeway in Camarillo should prepare to leave their homes, an offici...

The state : mystery man faces death

A mysterious patient listed as “John Doe” faces the possibility of death alone at UC Irvine Medical Center because his f...

Bill introduced in LS for setting up petroleum institute in AP

A bill providing for setting up of the Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy in Andhra Pradesh was introduced in the ...

Latests News

New memorial pays tribute to civil war's black soldiers

Janice Lorenz, of Lanham, Md., never spent time studying her family tree. Then she heard a lecture a year ago on the suf...

Fight against COVID-19: Former female ULFA cadres make masks for Army

At a time when the entire world is reeling under the fear of COVID-19 pandemic, former female ULFA cadres have found a n...

Big Mother is watching - Los Angeles Times

Time was, kids would come home to show off their latest test, adorned with a star from the teacher. At the dinner table,...

Face-lift

डाउन टू अर्थPrint EditionSubscribeHealthAgricultureWaterWasteClimateAirAfricaData CentreVideoGalleryYoungEnvironmentalis...

Poll gimmick: Assam Cabinet decides to increase tea garden workers’ wage to Rs 217

Keeping in view of the ensuing State Assembly election 2021, the Assam Cabinet on Saturday decided to increase the daily...

Top