Black Civil War soldiers to be honored with 7-foot bronze monument

The Militia Act, passed by the United States Congress in 1862, allowed enslaved men to fight for their country during the Civil War. These soldiers, part of the United States Colored Troops, made up one-tenth of the fighting forces for the Union Army.

Now, 160 years later, 70 Black Union military members who fought in the Civil War from 1863 to 1865 will be memorialized in a monument planned for Rocky Mount in Franklin County, Virginia, where the 69 soldiers and one sailor were born.

The proposal started when Virginia Tech's Monument Across Appalachian Virginia project was awarded money to help fund the work of researcher Glenna Moore. She started looking into Franklin County's Black veterans in 2020 and received a grant that paved the way for an investigation into the soldiers' lives.

At the start of her research, Moore said she had only found three soldiers born in Franklin County, but later discovered 70 men who fought as part of the U.S. Colored Troops, later renamed the Afro-Union Soldiers.

What excites me about finding the U.S. Colored Troop . . . it was something never taught to me. I was in junior high in Franklin County in 1965 and one of 14 chosen to go to a newly built high school with teachers that didn't look like me," Moore told ABC News. "We were one of the only Black students and were never taught we fought for ourselves."

Moore noted that she only learned about Black soldiers' contributions to the war after she became an adult, and it made her feel empowered.

"I wish I could tell my 13-year-old self -- sitting in that history class as the only Black student, being taught the Lost Cause myth -- that one day, you will uncover the powerful history of the USCT soldiers," she said.

Once the research was solidified, the Raising the Shade committee -- a community interested in uncovering more about African Americans' significant role in the Civil War and educating others -- and the Franklin County NAACP decided on a way to commemorate the soldiers. To get more information, Moore and others collaborated with the National Archives and African American Civil War Museum in Washington, D.C.

After meetings, the groups decided to build a monument using private funds. But there was a problem: they needed to find a location.

"The only viable option at the time was the Veterans Memorial Park in Rocky Mount and the town council assumed that was the final decision," Franklin County NAACP President Eric Anspaugh told ABC News. "However, we viewed it as a placeholder while exploring other, more visible locations. The town resisted any change, even after we petitioned and attended council meetings."

The groups realized the memorial park area is prone to flooding, is not frequently visited and had fallen into disrepair, so they decided another location would be a better fit for the monument.

In early 2024, the Raising the Shade Committee sought funding through a grant application, which required confirmation from the local government that they would assist in finding a location for the monument. While the site hadn't been determined, the town supported the project from the beginning and was eager to help identify the most suitable place.

A meeting was set up in that spring, followed by monthly discussions and participation in community events. Initially, the Veterans Park was considered as a potential location, but the committee felt it was not the best fit. A town official suggested a church site.

"One of our council members, Ralph Casey, suggested First Baptist Church as an alternative," Mayor Holland Perdue told ABC News. "That started a new conversation, and ultimately, the church was chosen because it aligned well with their plans for the property. The committee also liked the idea of a downtown location for greater visibility."

Meanwhile, the sculptors got started on the 7-foot bronze statue and Rick Weaver knew Rocky Mount -- he helped to remove Confederate symbols and replace them with new monuments. Having worked with Raising the Shade and the Franklin County NAACP in the past, he agreed to take on this project.

He also brought along Paul Dipasquale, who worked on the Arthur Ashe Monument -- which depicts the Black tennis player -- in Richmond, Virginia.

When the two heard of the placement at the Veterans Memorial Park, they believed the area was not suitable to house the Union soldiers' monument as it was too small and did not include any other Black veterans.

Other possible locations, such as the area around the town’s farmers market, were also discussed.

"This project will not only honor these men but also educate the community about this part of Franklin County’s history. There was some discussion about the location, but there was never any question about whether we wanted to have a monument -- everyone was on board from the start," Mayor Pedue said. "The main focus was finding the best place for it."

Then, in a move that the pastor said mirrored council member Casey's suggestion, the First Baptist Church stepped in and offered its original location. It's now used as an educational community center, as the congregation built a new church in 1965 during the Civil Rights Movement. That original site is on a visible main road.

"Some have questioned why a church would host a monument for soldiers, but I see the stories of the soldiers and the church as intertwined," the Rev. Chris Coates of First Baptist Church told ABC News. "Both represent resilience and overcoming obstacles. The church members sacrificed to build their place of worship, just as these soldiers sacrificed for freedom."

After months of back-and-forth with town officials, the offer was a relief.

"For those of us involved in the project, it felt like a weight had been lifted. We were finally able to shift focus back to telling the soldiers' stories instead of debating locations," Anspaugh -- the local NAACP president -- said.

The groups weren't only interested in the monument, but gathering enough history to create profiles on each soldier to showcase in town.

The monument -- one of seven community initiatives accepted into the Appalachian project -- is scheduled to be completed by November 2025 and mounted on an elevated hill along a busy street by December 2025.

It will feature the Black Union soldiers, 21 of whom were free when they enlisted and may have been free all their lives, according to National Archives files researched by Raising the Shade.

In 1860, there was a small population of 105 free Black people in Franklin County and some owned property. However, there were 6,351 enslaved people in Franklin County -- nearly one-third of the entire population of 20,098 inhabitants.

A forum hosted at the historic First Baptist Church is planned for May 31. The church and others will work with high school students and youth groups to educate them on the Black soldiers who fought in the Civil War and hailed from either their county or town.

The unveiling will take place at the historic First Baptist Church, which was built in 1896 by members who were formerly enslaved or were children of formerly enslaved communities.

"I hope this project will increase awareness and bridge racial divides, not just in our community but beyond," the Rev. Coates said.