Eight new historical markers coming to roadsides in the commonwealth will highlight events, schools, cemeteries and persons important in Virginia’s African American history in Appomattox, Cumberland, Fairfax, Page, Southampton and York counties and the cities of Virginia Beach and Winchester; and six additional markers will focus on persons and places including a 19th-century scientist and educator in Lynchburg; a noted 20th-century historic preservationist in Richmond; an early 18th-century settlement community in Rockbridge County; a commercial and recreational natural springs site in Augusta County; a railroad tunnel in Nelson County that, when completed in 1858, was the longest in the United States; and an architecturally significant high school, built in 1935 in Alexandria.

The Virginia Board of Historic Resources approved the markers earlier this month during its quarterly meeting hosted by the Department of Historic Resources (DHR).

Among the markers noting important events in African American history in Virginia include the following relating to Appomattox County:

Union forces closed in on Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia near the town of Appomattox Court House on 9 April 1865. Pressured Confederates attacked Union cavalry and tried to break through to the west, but their advance faltered when Union infantry, including two brigades of U.S. Colored Troops, arrived on the field allowing over 5,000 Black soldiers to help block Lee’s escape which led to his surrender to Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant later that day.

Full text of a DHR-Initiated Marker titled “U.S. Colored Troops at Appomattox” at the proposed location on Route 24 just west of Appomattox Court House is as follows:

On the morning of 9 April 1865, Union forces closed in on Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. The Confederates attacked Union cavalry near here, trying to break through to the west. Their advance faltered when Union infantry, including two brigades of U.S. Colored Troops, arrived on the field. Among the 5,000 Black soldiers who helped block Lee’s escape were formerly enslaved men, free-born African Americans, and foreign-born individuals of African descent. Lee surrendered to Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant later that day. African Americans long commemorated 9 April as a day of liberation, celebrating the role played by Black soldiers in the final defeat of Lee’s army.

If you want more content like this, support local journalism by purchasing the Times Virginian newspaper at a local newsstand or subscribing at www.timesvirginian.com/subscriber_services to receive the print edition and/or e-edition version.