By Cheryl Sobun
 |
| Photo submitted by Adams County Historical Society |
Basil Biggs
Burial site: Lincoln Cemetery
Status: Citizen
Born in Maryland in 1819, Biggs moved to Gettysburg in 1858, and his home was reportedly part of the Underground Railroad. Called a “horse doctor” in historical documents, Biggs was a well-respected citizen. He helped bury the bodies of the Union soldiers who died at Gettysburg and was paid 4 cents a burial. He also was one of the founding members of the Society of the Sons of Good Will. Biggs died in 1906.
Abraham Brian
Burial site: Lincoln Cemetery
Status: Citizen
Abraham Brian was a Gettysburg citizen whose name often comes up with the telling of Pickett’s Charge, which took place on July 3, 1863. Brian’s house was right in the middle of Pickett’s Charge, on the right flank of the Union line along Cemetery Ridge. The building still stands today, a white house that looks a bit out of place in the middle of the field and monuments. Brian was a farmer and laborer and was financially sound by the day’s standards. He was one of the black residents who did not live on “the black side of town” but on a 12-acre farm. His farmhouse reputedly served as a safe haven in the Underground Railroad and during the third day battle at Gettysburg. He was 79 when he died in 1879.
 |
| Photo by Noel Kline |
Burial site: Gettysburg National Cemetery
Status: Civil War veteran
Parker was born in Virginia in 1847 and enlisted in Co. F, 3rd Regiment, of the U.S. Colored Troops on Dec. 7, 1864. He was shot in the leg at the Battle of Gainesville and contracted a severe bout of pneumonia. He was mustered out of service on Oct. 31, 1865. He never regained his health and died in Biglerville on July 2, 1876, at just 29. He was first buried in Yellow Hill Cemetery in Biglerville before being reinterred at Gettysburg National Cemetery.
Isaac Buckmaster
Burial site: Lincoln Cemetery
Status: Civil War veteran
According to his obituary, Buckmaster enrolled at Camp William Penn in Philadelphia on Sept. 15, 1863, with Co. A, 8th Regiment of the U.S. Colored Troops, serving as private. He was only 16. Buckmaster was wounded at the Battle of Olustee in Florida on Feb. 20, 1864. He saw action near Appomattox Court House in Virginia in April 1865 and was honorably discharged on Nov. 10, 1865. He died in 1882 at the age of 35.
 |
| Photo by Noel Kline |
Henry Gooden
Burial site: Gettysburg National Cemetery
Status: Civil War veteran
A Carlisle, Pa., resident, Gooden of Co. C, 127th Regiment of the U.S. Colored Troops was mustered in on August 26, 1864, at the age of 43 and was mustered out on Sept. 8, 1865. His occupation was laborer, and during the war, he saw limited action. His assignment was in Texas, guarding military posts and herding cattle. He died on Aug. 15, 1876. He was first buried in the Alms House Burying Grounds but reinterred in the Gettysburg National Cemetery in November 1884.
 |
| Photo submitted by Adams County Historical Society |
Burial site: Gettysburg National Cemetery
Status: Spanish American War-era and WWI Veteran, Soldier and Sailor
A lifelong Gettysburg resident except during his service to his country, Stanton was born on April 2, 1872. He enlisted in Troop D of the 10th Cavalry on May 18, 1899. He just missed the Spanish American War but served in the Philippines. He was honorably discharged on May 7, 1902, and then enlisted in the Navy, where he served as a ship’s cook, first class. He was transferred to the Naval Reserves on Feb. 12, 1923, and was honorably discharged from the 4th Naval District on Aug. 21, 1931. He was an active member of the community and served annually as organizer and marshal of the annual Colored Memorial Day Parade. He died on May 4, 1937, under mysterious circumstances. Reports of the day say there was an investigation into whether it was suicide or homicide. He was buried in the Gettysburg National Cemetery on May 6, 1937.
Owen Robinson
Burial site: Lincoln Cemetery
Status: Citizen
Robinson was born a slave in Maryland at the turn of the 19th century. His master one day had a change of heart and freed his slaves, so Robinson traveled north to Gettysburg to build a new life for himself. According to the book The Colors of Courage: Gettysburg’s Forgotten History by Margaret S. Creighton, Robinson did not know his exact birthday, but he always remembered the day he was set free: Nov. 5, 1817. He owned a confectionary business in town that was reputedly popular with blacks and whites, and he was listed in the 1860 census as a “confectioner.” He made ice cream in the summer and served oysters in the winter. Robinson was one of the founding members of the Society of the Sons of Good Will. He died in 1900.
 |
| Photo submitted by Adams County Historical Society |
Buried: Lincoln Cemetery
Status: Civil War veteran
Imagine someone getting promoted to Sergeant, just five days after enlisting. Such was the case for Lloyd F. A. Watts, Co. B of the 24th Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops. According to several sources, his quick promotion was most likely due to his literacy. Born in Franklinville in Carroll County, Md., on Feb. 6, 1835, Watts was a young boy when his family moved to Gettysburg, where he lived the rest of his life. According to his pension records, he enlisted in the army on Feb. 3, 1865, just a few days shy of 30 years old. He was promoted to sergeant on Feb. 8 and honorably discharged on Oct. 1, 1865. Upon returning home, he was an accomplished town leader and respected by “both white and colored citizens,” according to his Gettysburg Times obituary. He was a teacher of a local school for black children and “an ordained deacon of the A.M.E. Zion church, serving faithfully as president of the trustees’ board for a long time.” He died in his home on May 26, 1918, at the age of 83.
No comments:
Post a Comment