Memorial honors 'Spirit' of African American soldiers

During the Civil War, American citizens fought against each other in an attempt to uphold the respective ideologies in which they believed. The South sought to maintain the institution of slavery, and the North desired to preserve the Union. African American soldiers’ participation in the war aided the Union’s victory.

The sacrifices of the African American soldiers who served in the Civil War are memorialized at the African American Civil War Memorial, located at 1000 U Street in Washington, D.C.

Built in 1998, the memorial includes the “Spirit of Freedom” statue surrounded on three sides by The Wall of Honor. Sculptor Ed Hamilton, of Louisville, Kentucky designed the 9 ½ foot statue, which depicts three African American soldiers and an African American sailor who symbolize protectors of the fight for freedom. The soldiers and sailor are accompanied by a spirit, at the top of the statue, who is symbolically guiding them into battle. The back of the memorial depicts a family with their son, who is preparing to enter the war.

The “Spirit of Freedom” statue rests upon a two foot circular base with the inscription: “Civil War to Civil Rights and Beyond: This Memorial is dedicated to those who served in the African American units of the Union Army in the Civil War. The 209,145 names inscribed on these walls commemorate those fighters of freedom.”

“Who would be free themselves must strike the blow. Better even die free than to die slaves.” This quotation from Frederick Douglass appears on the center section of the Wall of Honor, which comprises 166 stainless steel plaques arranged by regiment. The plaques list the names of the 209,145 United States Colored Troops (USCT) who served in the Civil War, including the 7,000 white officers who served in USCT regiments.

Hari Jones is the assistant director of the African American Civil War Museum, located two blocks from the African American Civil War Memorial.
“During the last year of the Civil War, twenty-five percent of Union Army soldiers were African Americans,” Jones says.

Twenty-three African Americans were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for their heroism during the Civil War. One recipient of the medal was Christian Fleetwood, a native of Baltimore, Maryland. Fleetwood’s picture and biographical information are on display at the museum. He was awarded the medal for his acts of heroism in battle on September 29, 1864 at Chaffin’s Farm, Virginia.

The African American Civil War Museum contains artifacts, drawings, letters, pictures, and video documentaries. Approximately 174,000 of the 209,145 African Americans who served in the Union Army came from slave states. The Museum also has information about individual African American soldiers who fought in the war and background information about the Civil War. For more information about the African American Civil War Memorial visit: http://afroamcivilwar.org/

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