Hundreds of people gathered at Soldiers' National Cemetery at noon on Tuesday to pay tribute to Pvt. Charles Parker, a member of the U.S. Colored Troops who fought in the Civil War.

Afterward, Deb McCauslin, who calls herself an amateur historian, directed the crowd's attention to where another black soldier was laid to rest in 1884.

Pvt. Henry Gooden's body was moved there from Alms House cemetery in Gettysburg. He was the first black soldier laid to rest in the cemetery. Parker was interred there in 1936.

McCauslin told the crowd to take note of the grave next to Gooden's, that of Lt. Wesley F. Miller.

"The soldier is not in that grave," McCauslin said. "When the Miller family, from Harrisburg, found out that a black soldier was going to be buried beside their son, they disinterred the body of their son, and he is in (a) Harrisburg cemetery."

McCauslin attributed that information to a National Park Service source, but couldn't name the source.

John Heiser, park historian, knew nothing of the story.

He said he's been asked why so few black soldiers are buried in Soldiers' National Cemetery, and if there was a policy against black men being buried there. He's found no evidence to support that, and said, "I've never heard anything like this before."

"I know Miller's body was moved, but there's no indication" that it was moved "because of being buried next to a black soldier," Heiser said, noting he ran the story by two park rangers who also had not heard the story before.

Heiser said he was surprised McCauslin shared the story publicly without knowing from whom she heard it.


Lincoln's words resonate through annals of American history



Complete coverage of Dedication Day, and upcoming events.