Former USCT Burial Ground

In 1864, a group of U.S. Colored Troops convalescing at L'Ouverture Hospital petitioned Major Edwin Bentley, Surgeon in Charge, for burial alongside their white comrades-in-arms in the proper soldiers' cemetery, declaring that as American citizens they had fought side by side with white soldiers and shared equally the dangers and hardships of the conflict. This corner of the cemetery was probably reserved for members of the U.S. Colored Troops, some of whom were veterans of battles such as the siege of Petersburg and the Battle of the Crater. Their request was granted, and in January 1865 the coffins of 118 U.S. Colored Troops were relocated to the military burial ground now Alexandria National Cemetery.

Alexandria, Virginia · United States