NATCHEZ, Miss. – Planners of a Natchez monument honoring Black Union soldiers will now focus on designing the shrine after the city board approved siting it at the green space on Broadway Street’s north end.
The monument location was recommended by a city-appointed committee and ratified Friday by the Natchez Board of Aldermen.
Mayor Dan Gibson last year initiated efforts to honor more than 3,000 Black soldiers who served in Natchez when it was occupied by the Union army beginning 1863.
The spacious city-owned lawn on Broadway and Madison streets in the city’s river bluff area was selected for the monument after more than 25 Natchez sites were reviewed, said visit Natchez Executive Director Devin Heath, who leads the city’s tourism department.
The site stands out because of its historical significance and its visual prominence overlooking the Mississippi River, said Heath, a member of the Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument Committee
He said historical accounts show Black Union soldiers drilled there with White soldiers when they occupied Natchez during and after the Civil Year.
He also noted the site is on the edge of what back then was Fort McPherson, the Union earthen fortification that encompassed a large section of north Natchez.
Newly freed slaves in the Natchez area were enlisted into the Union army and focused largely on demolishing the Natchez Forks of the Road slave market and building Fort McPherson, according to historical accounts.
While city aldermen approved putting the monument at the Broadway Street park, plans must also be reviewed by the state Department of Archives & History and the Natchez Preservation Commission because it’s a historic site.
While few Black soldiers stationed in Natchez were involved in Civil War combat, about 800 died from diseases, according to historical records.
Robert Pernell, who chairs the Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument Committee, said Friday that planners will now concentrate on getting ideas on what the monument should look like.
“We’re open to suggestions. This is not a closed-door event,” Pernell said.
The committee has been tasked by the mayor to site, design, research and fund the Black Union troops memorial. The size and design of the monument will be largely dictated by how much money is raised.
For more information about the monument plans and ways to contribute, go to the Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Committee’s Facebook page or website:
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