 |
| Senator Kearney urges the Senate to pass SCR 23. |
“Former Representative Sylvester D. Patton Jr., initiated this effort in 2003 to recognize the Cincinnati Black Brigade. Through the dedicated work of Dr. Charles O. Dillard, it would be only fitting to finally recognize the members of the Black Brigade for their significant contributions to defending their city, their state and their country,” said Senator Kearney.
In September of 1862 when Confederate forces were threatening Cincinnati, the commander of Union forces Major General Lew Wallace ordered all men in Cincinnati, including African Americans, to build defenses for protection.
Initially, African American men were treated poorly by the city government and union troops. However this changed when William Dickson, a respected citizen of Cincinnati, was given command of the African American men and organized them into the Cincinnati Black Brigade.
The members of the Black Brigade were recognized by the engineers in charge of building the defenses as the hardest working and most efficient group involved in the effort. Following the successful defeat of the Confederate forces, many of the members of the Black Brigade went on to serve in one of the first Union military units for African Americans.
Although other citizens who participated in the defense of Cincinnati were recognized at the time by the General Assembly, the members of the Black Brigade received no such recognition.
“I would like to extend my gratitude to my colleagues in the Senate for honoring this group of brave men who put their lives on the line to protect the freedom of thousands,” said Senator Kearney.
The Senate also passed the legislation with an amendment proposed by Senator Frank LaRose (R- Summit County), a decorated Army veteran, recognizing the members as veterans of the American Civil War.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.