Military All pictures taken by Percy White and are the property of FindFamilyRoots.com unless otherwise indicated. Richard "Dick" Poplar 1816 to May 22, 1886 A Black Civil War Confederate Soldier Petersburg, Virginia |
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Richard “Dick” Poplar served as a cook for Confederate Company H of the Thirteenth Virginia Calvary, formerly known as the Sussex Light Dragoons, an all Volunteer Virginia Calvary. Members of the Sussex Light Dragoons were wealthy men who took their servants with them to war. Mr. Poplar joined Company H in 1861 and remained attached to it until their retreat from Gettysburg.
Upon their retreat, he and many other confederate soldiers were captured and imprisoned in Fort Delaware. Mr. Poplar was detained for five months and later taken to Point Lookout in Maryland where he was locked up for an additional fourteen months. While imprisoned at Point Lookout, he was offered the opportunity to take the oath of allegiance to the Union and be released. However, he refused and chose to remain loyal to the Confederacy and his friends.
On March 1, 1865, he was released and returned to Petersburg, where he lived the remainder of his life. A short time before his death, Mr. Poplar became ill and was moved into the home of James Muirhead, one of the Confederate soldiers for whom he cooked during the Civil War. Mr. Muirhead provided for Mr. Poplar’s care and well being until his death on May 22, 1886.
SOURCES:
Internet "Richard Dick Poplar Memorial Program." PetersburgExpress.com, Web. 1 Oct. 2008.
Site Visit Gravesite. Blanford Cemetery, Petersburg, VA. 18 Oct. 2008.
PICTURED: Grave marker of Richard "Dick" Poplar.
INTERRED: Blanford Cemetery, 111 Rochelle Lane, Petersburg, VA 23803. Phone: 804-733-2396.
SUBMITTED: September 20, 2009. Picture taken October 18, 2008.
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Buffalo Soldiers Alexandria National Cemetery 1450 Wilkes Street Alexandria, VA 22314 |
On July 28, 1866, Congress established a peacetime army. Six new black units were created: the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 38th, 39th, 40th and 41st Infantry, to be known later as Buffalo Soldiers.
PICTURES: The grave of five Buffalo Soldiers interred at Alexandria National Cemetery.
SOURCES: Books Appiah, Kwame, Anthony and Gates, Henry Louis, ed. "Woodson Africana The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience." 1st ed. New York: Civitas, 1999. Print. Stewart, Jeffrey C. "1001 Things Everyone Should Know About African American History." New York: Broadway. Reprinted 2001. Print.
Site Visit Gravesites. Alexandria National Cemetery, Alexandria, VA. 15 Oct. 2008.
SUBMITTED: October 16, 2008. Pictures taken October 15, 2008.
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Tuskegee Airman Lt. Colonel Alexander Jefferson Ret. |
Tuskegee Airmen were dedicated, determined young men from all over the U.S. who volunteered to become America's first Black Military Airmen. Only those who possessed the physical and mental qualifications were accepted into aviation cadet training. Initially they were trained to be pilots. Later they were trained to be navigators or bombardiers.
The U.S. Army Air Corps contract was awarded to Tuskegee University due to it having previously invested in the development of an airfield. With funding from the Julius Rosenwald Fund, Moton Field was built in 1940 and completed in to 1942. The field was named after Dr. Robert Moton, second President of Tuskegee University. Moton Field was the main flight training location for the airmen. They also used Walterboro Army Airfield in Walterboro, SC. More than 1,000 black pilots between 1940 to 1946 were trained at Tuskegee.
The all-black 332nd Fighter Group was comprised of airmen who completed the training. It consisted of four fighter squadrons, the 99th, the 100th, the 301st and the 302nd. As a member of the 332nd Fighter Group, Lieutenant Jefferson along with his squadron, escorted B17’s and B24’s from Italy into Germany during World War II. On his 19th mission, he was shot down and spent nine months in Germany as a POW.
The Tuskegee Airmen did not lose a single bomber to enemy fire in more than 200 combat missions. Their record is unequalled by any other fighter group. The 332nd Fighter Group was depicted in the movie Tuskegee Airman (1995).
PICTURES: First Row L and R and Second Row L, and R: Presentation given by Lt. Colonel Alexander Jefferson Ret. on November 8, 2009, at Charles Houston Recreation Center in Alexandria, Virginia. Third Row L, Middle and R: Pictures of Tuskegee Airman. Fourth Row L: Black Women Army Corps in Training. Fourth Row R: Members of the 92nd Infantry.
SOURCES: Books Appiah, Kwame, Anthony and Gates, Henry Louis, ed. "Africana The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience." 1st ed. New York: Civitas, 1999. Print. Stewart, Jeffrey C. "1001 Things Everyone Should Know About African American History." New York: Broadway. Reprinted 2001. Print. Internet "Tuskegee Airmen." The Official Site of the U.S. Air Force, Web. 8 Nov. 2009.
Lecture Jefferson, Alexander. The Tuskegee Airmen. Charles Houston Recreation Center, Alexandria, Virginia. 8 Nov. 2009. Lecture.
Site Visit Walterboro Army Air Field. Walteboro, SC. 23 Dec. 2010.
SUBMITTED: November 16, 2009. Pictures at presentation provided courtesy of Mr. Olvin McBarnette. Pictures taken November 8, 2009.
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