Topeka, Kansas, August 21

A gathering on the steps of the Lincoln Monument at the Kansas State Capitol August 21 showed the growing sentiment and solidarity calling for the recognition and honoring of Blacks who served the South and the Confederacy in a myriad of roles. From mule driver to cook, camp musician to body servant, and drummer to soldier, Blacks served with honor throughout the forces of the Confederacy. Members of the 9th Texas Infantry, CSA, and the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry, USA, stood side-by-side to recognize a forgotten history today.

This significant gathering of people of all racial backgrounds and sentiments is a shot across the bow, one of several recent, to bring to light the service of Blacks and other Confederates of Color. With the recent controversy surrounding the exclusion of Dr. Emerson Emory, a Black descendant of a Confederate soldier, from the dedication of the African American Civil War Memorial, and upcoming filming of "The Angel of Marye's Heights" and "Morgan's Raiders," in which Black Confederate soldiers will appear, momentum is growing which will become impossible to ignore.

Cachet Commemorations, Inc., has been commissioned by Kyle Erickson, a member of the 9th Texas Infantry Confederate reenactment group, to create a commemorative envelope honoring Blacks who served the Confederacy as soldiers in the Civil War. Black soldiers fought for the South at the Second Battle of Cabin Creek, one of the few Confederate victories in Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) during the war. Blacks also served in Louisiana prior to the fall of New Orleans and in Richmond, Virginia, in the war's closing days. Throughout the war, Blacks served the South in a variety of capacities both armed and unarmed. The recent unveiling of the African-American Civil War Memorial in Washington, D.C. has brought due recognition to Blacks who fought for the Union. Diverse groups such as the Sons of the Confederate Veterans are pointing out that Blacks also served the South and ask that those efforts be noted and remembered as well. The envelope commemorating Confederate Blacks was unveiled at a press conference on the south grounds of the Kansas Capitol Building at 11:30AM on Friday, August 21. Kansas was chosen as the site for the unveiling because the first shots that eventually escalated into civil war were fired in that state. August 21 marks the 135th anniversary of Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, one of the most significant actions in Kansas during the war.