Ground Flag Holder

A community service project turned into an unusual history lesson for a group of Philadelphia high school students recently. The students were raking and shoveling debris and trash from the grass in an East Camden neighborhood park when their shovels clinked against rock, but not just any rock. The students had uncovered a row of flat white rectangular stones set closely into the ground. Examination showed the weathered stones to be headstones from the 1800s. The students had discovered a historic African American graveyard, long lost to neglect, its memory fading under the tall grass.

Records from the Camden County Historical Society showed the cemetery to date back to the 1800s when it served as the last resting place for nearly 250 black residents from the surrounding community. Known then as Johnson Cemetery, it was also the burial site of 123 soldiers from the U.S. Colored Troops who fought and died during the Civil War.

Historical society photographs from the 1970s depict rows of light gray headstones, many of the old stones tilted or leaning. In the archival photos, small American flags decorate many of the soldiers’ graves. As recently as 40 years ago, the cemetery was still a place where families came to remember and honor their dead and those who served their country. Perhaps now that the cemetery has been rediscovered, it will be again.