CARLISLE, Pa. — After 151 years, the names of five black soldiers were added to the Veteran’s Square Civil War Monument in Carlisle: Alfred Whiting, Edward Parks, Augustus Lewis, Henry King, and Stewart Woods.
The five Cumberland County men were all part of the famous 54th Massachusetts Regiment—one of the first Black regiments formed during the Civil War.
Despite all five giving their lives in combat, their names remained in the shadows upon the erection of the Civil War monument in 1871.
“At that time, they did not include the names of people of color who died in the war," said Cara Curtis of the Cumberland County Historical Society.
Curtis was part of the team who researched and identified the five men. The addition to the monument is part of a larger effort to elevate Carlisle and Cumberland County’s Black history.
“Saying their names and remembering their names is just so incredibly important," said Curtis. “With the county and everyone, we were able to come together and right that wrong and give the men the respect and honor they are due.”
The five names will be unveiled to the public in an official ceremony after the Carlisle Memorial Day Parade. Curtis says it’s important to remember all soldiers who laid down their lives in defense of our country.
“They were family members to people. They were brothers, husbands, children, sons, and they weren’t given their due, they weren’t honored in the manner they should have been," said Curtis.
"Doing it now doesn’t erase the 150 years they weren’t here, but we can say their names now, we can remember their stories, and we can remember the impact they had in creating a better United States.”
Curtis says over 300 black Pennsylvanians fought with the 54th Massachusetts during the Civil War.