Loyal, True, and Brave

Loyal, True, and Brave. Black Civil War Veterans at Rest. Two dozen African American Civil War veterans rest in peaceful Lebanon Cemetery, established on August 26, 1872. For the first two years of the Civil War, Black men were forbidden to serve in the Union Army. But the January 1, 1863, Emancipation Proclamation opened the U.S. ranks to their race. By war's end, nearly 200,000 African Americans served in the Army., Reverend Jesse S. Cowles, one of those veterans, is buried here. Born enslaved in Albemarle County, Va., around 1845, Cowles self-emancipated to Union lines in 1862. Cowles was sent to Connecticut, where in November 1863 he enlisted in the 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry at age 15., On October 27, 1864, Cowles was wounded in the arm near Richmond, Va. Discharged in October 1865, he graduated from Connecticut's Wesleyan University in 1872. Cowles became an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and led congregations in multiple states., In 1885, Cowles, then pastor of New York City's largest Black church, led a successful campaign in his community to help fund Ulysses S. Grant's tomb. Cowles came to York County in 1895, and died on July 17, 1897., For more information, visit FriendsOfLebanonCemetery.com, (captions) , Like many formerly enslaved, Rev. Jesse Cowles was unsure of what happened to his family. On August 10, 1871, he placed this ad in Washington, DC's, New National Era: "I would like to hear of my mother, Sarah Cowles, who was formerly owned by Rev. Samuel Blain, Meadowfield Farm, near Williamsburg, Virginia. Any information concerning her will be thankfully received." Courtesy New York Public Library, (Right side panel) , About 200 Black men from York County fought for the Union cause, and 24 of them are buried in this cemetery. , 1. Alfred Mason , 2. James Saunders , 3. William Clinton Wood , 4. Thomas Grigsby , 5. John Bryant , 6. John Roley , 7. James Conder , 8. Henry Jacobs , 9. William Boley , 10. Elias Patrick , 11. Jesse Cowles , 12. John Bowie , 13. William Carpenter , 14. John Mayers , 15. Stephen Mayers , 16. Charles Webster , 17. Cyrus Johnson , 18. Louis King , 19. John Noble , 20. John Hector , 21. David Young , 22. James Jefferson , 23. Joseph Howard , 24. Greenberry S. Robinson