HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL PR 2014-08-18 Civil War Trails Sign at Mount Zion Cemetery
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
Local Groups to Hold Tribute to Loudoun County’s African
American Civil War Veterans on September 6, 2014
Leesburg, VA (August 18, 2014) – On Saturday,
September 6, 2014, the Loudoun County Civil
War Sesquicentennial Committee, the Black
History Committee of the Friends of the Thomas
Balch Library and the Mount Zion Cemetery
Committee will host a tribute to the County’s
African American Civil War veterans.
The event will begin at 2:00pm at the Senior
Center of Leesburg (102 North Street NW,
Leesburg, VA 20176). The program will start
with a performance by a combined community
choir comprised of members from the Mount
Zion United Methodist Church, the First Mount
Olive Baptist Church and the Providence Baptist
Church. Following the performance, Master of
Ceremonies Major General (Retired) Robert
Nabors will introduce keynote speaker, author
Kevin Grigsby. In his book From Loudoun to Glory, Mr. Grigsby documented the service of
nearly 300 African Americans from Loudoun County, Virginia, who served in the Union Army
and Navy.
After Mr. Grigsby’s keynote address, the program will shift to the Mount Zion Community
Cemetery (201 Old Waterford Road NW, Leesburg, VA 20176). Members of the three
sponsoring organizations will dedicate a new Virginia Civil War Trails sign that highlights the
service of four Civil War veterans buried at the Cemetery. The ceremony will include the laying
of wreaths on the veterans’ headstones, a rifle salute, and the playing of taps by local buglers.
An honor guard comprised of Civil War re-enactors of the 54th Massachusetts and 23rd U.S.
Colored Infantry Regiments, and the local VFW Post #1177 will provide the rifle salute.
During the ceremony, Old Waterford Road will be closed to traffic, from Gibson Street to North
Street.
(more)
TOL PR 2014-08-18 Civil War Trails Sign at Mount Zion Cemetery
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Earlier this year, Knight Solutions, a
Leesburg-based minority and disabled
veteran owned construction company that
specializes in cemetery renovation,
volunteered its services to clean the four
veterans’ headstones. Pictured at left,
Knight Solutions employee Ricardo Daniels
rinses more than a century’s worth of dirt
and grime off one of the headstones. The
same headstone is pictured above, after the
cleaning.
Contact:
Betsy Fields
Research & Communications Manager
bfields@leesburgva.gov
703-771-2734
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