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Lincoln Cemetery in
Gettysburg PA is the resting place of at least 30 Adams County members of
the United States Coloured Troops. Located west of the 300 block of South
Washington Street, it originally bordered the former Roman Catholic
Cemetery and Long Lane. It was created beginning in 1867 out of land
bought from the 'coloured citizens' of the borough. It was in 1866 that a
group of Gettysburg black men formed a society called "The Sons of Good
Will" Their first priority was to "find a place to bury our dead" coloured
veterans and citizens of Gettysburg. A committee of three men - Basil
Biggs, Nelson Matthews and Thomas Griegsby - was formed and they bought
1/2 acre of land in 1867. The "Good Will Cemetery" served as as the
burying ground for coloured citizens until 19o6 when the trustees of the
local AME Zion Church purchased another 1/2 acre. The purpose was to
reinter coloured citizens from the York Street graveyard in town. The
cemetery continued to expand and 1916 and 1920 more land was added to
become what we know now as Lincoln Cemetery; the name was affixed in 1920.
Among the known residents we find Abraham Bryan/Brian/Brien - all
spellings are on record. He and his family owned the Brien farm on
Cemetery Ridge, a central point of fighting on July 3rd, 1863. We also
find Edward Hopkins, the son of Jack Hopkins, the beloved custodian of
Gettysburg College at the time of the battle and basil Biggs. Biggs was a
local veterinarian whose home was a stop on the Underground RR in
Gettysburg. After the battle he played a major role in 'raising the dead',
i.e. disinterring aver 3,600 remains of Union soldiers 6 at a time and
taking them to be reburied in the new National Cemetery.
Today the superb condition of the cemetery is due to the unflagging
efforts of Betty Dorsey Myers, a local history teacher and historian whose
passion to preserve this cemetery saved it from falling into ruin. Betty
fine book , SEGREGATION IN DEATH: GETTYSBURG'S LINCOLN CEMETERY, is
available from the Lincoln Cemetery Project Association, 408 Long Lane,
Gettysburg, PA 17325.
Her opening paragraph reads:
They fought for freedom and the preservation of the United States, but
were denied burial in a National Cemetery where Abraham Lincoln stood on
November 19, 1863 and gave his Gettysburg Address. Located less than a
quarter-mile from the national Cemetery is the burying ground once known
as the Good Will Coloured Graveyard. The veterans of the United States
Coloured Troops, who faithfully served the Union during the Civil War,
although freed from the chains and bonds of slavery, never knew the social
freedom of equality ion life, or death. |
