York County must not forget Wrightsville’s slain fighting man, and here’s an artist to create that Civil War memory
York County, Pa., artist Ophelia Chambliss, above, created this artwork for Gettysburg Recreation Park. It sits across from Lincoln Cemetery, burial site for black troops in the Civil War. It is a point for walking and guided tours this year, the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. (To see story on this artwork, check out: Olde Getty Place history told in new Gettysburg murals.) Also of interest: ‘Mending Hearts, Minds and Communities’ displayed in Harrisburg.
Ophelia Chambliss is constructing a memorable black history experience, as we’ve noted before: York countian builds the Black American Experience one photo, one story at a time.
And just last year, she created an art installation near Lincoln Cemetery.
“I am very proud and honored to be a part of this history and would like to create a storied legacy for York as well,” she wrote in a guest column in the York Sunday News: Side-by-side segregation in America.
Which brings to mind a project brewing in Wrightsville – recognition of the Civil War fighting man, a member of a black Columbia unit, who was killed in action battling the Confederate advance on the Susquehanna River bridge.
The site where he was killed defending the Union is identifiable, and some folks in York County have pledged donations toward a marker. Some in the Civil War historical community are searching for a sponsorship agency. (For a full discussion on this issue, check out: York County can never forget this unknown Civil War soldier, Part I.)
When this is done, who better than Ophelia Chambliss, with all her historical interests, to commission for the creation of the appropriate artwork or marker?
Ophelia Chambliss’ artwork in Gettysburg’s Recreation Park.
Also of interest:
Check out these stories and photos about black history in York County.
