White & Black, Blue & Gray-Social Battlefield Split Kent Families - Chestertown MD
Posted by: 
Don.Morfe
N 39° 12.537 W 076° 03.963
18S E 407959 N 4340505
In June 1917, Judge James A. Pearce commemorated the Civil War soldiers of Kent County by erecting a monument to honor the patriotism and valor of a once divided, but now reunited country.
Waymark Code: WM17QXT
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 03/25/2023
Views: 2
TEXT ON THE HISTORICAL MARKER
White & Black, Blue & Gray-Social Battlefield Split Kent Families
In June 1917, Judge James A. Pearce commemorated the Civil War soldiers of Kent County by erecting a monument to honor the patriotism and valor of a once divided, but now reunited country. The rough-cut and polished granite monument behind you displays the names of soldiers representing the United States on one side and the Confederacy on the other. Looking closely, you will see some of the same family names on both sides—brother against brother, father against son. Pearce said that the purpose of the monument was “to pay just tribute to men whose convictions of right and duty in a great crises of our country’s history led them to devote their lives, their fortune and their sacred honor to the cause each believed to be just and righteous.”
Pearce omitted African American soldiers, reflecting the prejudice of his day. More than 400 black Kent County residents, both slave and freemen, fought in the war, and slaves received their freedom if they agreed to serve. Most joined the United States Colored Troops, all-black Federal Army regiments commanded by white officers. Some served in the more unsegregated Federal Navy. County residents, both black and white, later rectified Pearce's omission by erecting a granite obelisk honoring the black soldiers. A dedication ceremony, led by members of the Parker White American Legion Post 143, was held on Memorial Day 1999.
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