Next week will be the historic 150th Anniversary for the Battle of Gettysburg and many great events are happening all around our region. It seems appropriate that we shine a light on an important Civil War historical marker we have here in the Northwest corner of Carlisle, Lincoln Cemetery.
It is located on the east side of Memorial Park at the corner of North Pitt and West Penn Streets and it was an African American burial ground for approximately 100 people between 1840 and 1902 including 35 former United States Colored Troops (USCT) veterans. In 1971 the cemetery was mostly abandoned and there was a push to create a recreational park by the railroad tracks and station. Despite much controversy, the headstones were removed, although the buried remain in the ground underneath the park, and a sitting area and walking path was added where the graves were along with memorial plaques and one headstone. It is unknown what actually happened to the original headstones that were there although many people have been researching what became of them.
Dickinson College has been working for a many years on a Civil War research project called the House Divided and they have made many historical documents available in digital form including many related to Lincoln Cemetery. One student from the school learned about the cemetery and wanted to highlight not only its history but to tell the story of one of the men buried there. Henry W. Spradley was a former slave, who served in the 24th USCT regiment and later became a beloved member of the Dickinson College staff. The student, Colin McFarlane, created an 11 minute documentary about his search to uncover the untold stories of Lincoln Cemetery through one of the men laid to rest there.
Here are some additional place to locate more information about Lincoln Cemetery:
Here is a full list of the African-American Soldiers buried in Lincoln Cemetery.
Alexander, James — Company I, 127th USCT
Bailey, L. James — Company G, 32nd USCT
Barton, John H. — Company H, 7th USCT
Berry (Gerry), J. D. — Company G, 5th Mass Cavalry (Sergeant)
Bolden, Alfred — Company C, 43rd USCT
Bush, Dennie — Company D, 32nd USCT
Cephas, William — Company D, 55th USCT
Cunningham, H. N. — Company D, 8th USCT
Cunningham, John — Company D, 22nd USCT
Fisher, Daniel — Company H, 32nd USCT
Fisher, George — Company E, 54th Mass
Howard, Charles J. — Company I, 54th USCT (Corporal)
Howard, R. B. — Company H, 54th Mass.
Ines, James — Company E, 8th USCT (Corporal)
Jackson, David — Company I, 43rd USCT
Jackson, Edward — Company A, 39th USCT
Jackson, George W. — Company A, 32nd USCT
Johnson, William N. — Company B, 127th USCT
Mason, William — “1st Enlistment Period”
McFarland, David — Company A, 22nd USCT (Corporal)
McFarland, John — Company B, 22nd USCT (Corporal)
Parker, Abram — Company C, 25th USCT
Parker, Robert Alfred — Company B, 24th USCT (Sergeant)
Peck, John G. — Company I, 25th USCT
Robinson, John — Company A, 32nd USCT (Corporal)
Smith, Harrison — Company B, 31st USCT
Spradley, Henry W. — Company G, 24th USCT
Strange, William — Company C, 24th USCT
Stubbs, Nathaniel — Rev. in USCT
Talton, Jesse — Company F, 31st USCT
Taylor, Bryon L. — Battery E, 31st Field Artillery
Washington, Alexander — Company B, 127th USCT
Washington, George — Company E, 5th Mass Cavalry
Welcome, James — Company E, 8th USCT
Williams, James O. — Company I, 5th USCT