"Remembering Norfolk's African American Cemeteries"
By Cassandra Newby-Alexander

With the added political strength came the desire of Norfolk's Black leadership to have the city provide its Black citizens with the same facilities equal to those extended to Whites. Beginning in the 1880's, Black city councilmen began addressing the failure of the city to provide its Black citizens with a government-funded burial ground. Even when the city allocated land at the north end of Cumberland Street and on the south side of Smith's Creek for the burial of its White citizens in 1825, Blacks were still left without a formal burial site. The few records recounting the early history of Norfolk suggests that Blacks continued the age-old practice of burying their dead in back yards, vacant lots, or sundry places in or nearby the city, and in a lot designated "Negroes Burying Ground." Not until 1827 did the Common Council authorize the burying of Blacks in Potter's Field, an area located immediately outside the borough limits and set aside for paupers. Even so, Blacks continued to be buried in multiple locations. A map illustrating the historical development of Norfolk pinpoints the only recorded existence of a "Negroes Burying Ground" located between Liberty, Scott, Hawke and Cumberland streets. Other records suggest that this area was used by numerous Blacks, including Church burial committees, to inter city residents. A photograph revealing artifacts uncovered while developing the Cumberland street area suggests that this was indeed an important burial ground for Norfolk's Blacks who continued the African tradition of burying their dead with personal items.

The Civil War and the presence of northern soldiers and missionaries changed Norfolk's traditional policy of exclusion to one of segregation. In keeping with these changes, the city of Norfolk authorized and established another Potter's Field in 1873 (briefly known as Calvary Cemetery in 1877 and located west of Elmwood Cemetery), for the burial of Black residents. As Blacks gained more power in the 1880's, Black City Councilman James E. Fuller petitioned the Council to change the name of that cemetery to West Point, with a section set aside for the construction of a monument honoring Black Civil War veterans and as a resting ground for those Black veterans.

While the city provided extraordinarily well for its White citizens in death as well as in life, the city's Blacks were accorded the same kind of treatment in death that they received in life. For two hundred years, Blacks did not have a decent, public-instituted burial ground for their loved ones. This oversight reflected the city's hostile disposition toward the Black community. Poor and badly-maintained street drainage systems contributed to the high rate of respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses among Blacks. According to the Freedmen's Bureau reports, 172 Blacks (with an almost equal division between male and female) died between January and June 1865. Twenty-nine percent of the fatalities were the result of respiratory diseases. Twice as high as the White death rate, this high mortality among Blacks, especially in Ward Four, continued even to the turn of the century. In 1884, Mayor Lamb lamented that the high mortality rate existed because a majority of Blacks in the city lived and died without receiving proper medical attention. The failure of the city to provide a Black hospital no doubt contributed to the high death rate.

Not until 1873 did the city make arrangements for the ever-increasing fatalities among its Black citizenry. The Common and Select Councils passed an ordinance on May 9 and June 3, 1873, respectively, authorizing that the "land belonging to the City of Norfolk lying north of the north section of the wall of Elmwood Cemetery, shall be set apart and appropriated as the burial ground of the colored citizens of the city, and shall be known as Calvary Cemetery." This ordinance was most probably the result of agitation by prominent Black leaders for Norfolk's government to provide the Black community with a city-vested burial ground as it did for the White community.
The Joint Committee of the Councils on Cemeteries was further authorized to appoint biennially a Black city resident as keeper of Calvary Cemetery and to use the monies gained from the sale of lots to enclose, embellish, and improve the land. Improvement of the land was essential because much of it was located next to Smith's Creek, a swampy area unfit for use as a burial ground because of the high water level. Despite this authorization, nothing was done about the land improvement or the cemetery keeper appointment. Situations such as the failure of Norfolk to provide an adequate cemetery for its Black citizens demonstrated the need for Black leaders.

Foreseeing that another cemetery for Blacks would be needed in the near future, on April 7, 1874, the Alms House Committee proposed that the Council and Norfolk's Black citizens accept J.M. Harrison's proposition that a ten acre lot on Princess Anne Road be purchased for a "Colored Cemetery" at a cost of $2,700.00, to be funded by corporate bonds. The Black leaders, however, presented an adverse report; they favored instead a tract of land on the Cottage Toll Bridge Road located on the Old Fair Ground. As a result of their objection, Council leaders rejected the Harrison proposition. However, the Council did adopt the November 16, 1874, Alms House's proposal that twenty-five acres of Thomas Ballentine's land be accepted as a burial place for Norfolk's Black residents. Ten acres of that land were already cleared and ready for use; and it was located within 900 feet of Princess Anne Road (joining the old Parish roads of Norfolk County) and within a mile and a quarter of the Norfolk city limits. The Select Council acceded to the Common Council's adoption on December 8, 1874, and the price was set at $2500.00, to be paid using city corporate bonds or $80.00 per acre in cash. On March 14, 1876, the City Council finally authorized payment of $2500.00 for fifty-three acres of land from Thomas Ballentine through his proxy Thomas Baltimore, payable July 1, 1876.

On January 9, 1877, the Select and Common Councils made the Alms House Committee's proposal official by providing that the recently purchased Ballentine land would be set apart as a burial ground for the Black citizens of the city and strangers and known as Calvary Cemetery. The Joint Committee of the Councils on Cemeteries had control and management over the interments, improvements, and embellishments of the grounds, as well as control over the keeper of the grounds. The purchase of this land and its designation as Calvary Cemetery resulted in the Council rescinding all former resolutions and actions relating to the naming of Potter's Field as Calvary Cemetery after 1877.

As the city expanded in the 1880's and 1890's, the Council authorized the building and shelling of roads leading out from the city into Norfolk County areas that would soon be annexed by Norfolk. On November 9, 1882, the Cemetery Committee recommended that $300 be appropriated from the cemetery budget for the shelling of the main road leading from Princess Anne Road to the gate of Calvary Cemetery. This appropriation may have resulted from the work of Councilman James E. Fuller, the longest-serving Black (in the nineteenth century) elected to Norfolk's Common Council. Fuller served on the Common Council from 1881 to 1889.

In 1885, the City Councils authorized the changing of the cemetery's name from Potter's Field to West Point Cemetery on the suggestion of Councilman Fuller. The new name was practical because West Point Cemetery was located along the western side of Elmwood Cemetery's wall and more dignified because Potter's Field suggested that only paupers were buried in those lots. Fuller also pressured the City Councils to authorize the building of alleys, cross alleys, and suitable lots in West Point to be consistent with the design of Norfolk's other cemeteries.

It was also to Fuller's credit that his motion designating a section of West Point to be dedicated as a special place of burial for Black Union veterans was adopted by the Common Council on March 30, 1886, and referred to the Cemetery Committee. This motion authorized "Section No. 20 on plot of West Point Cemetery would be donated to the Directors of the Union Veterans Hall Association for the burial of the members of the Grand Army of the Republic." The base of the monument, dedicated to all Black soldiers and sailors who served in the Civil War, was erected, after numerous fund-raising activities, on May 31, 1906. Even after Fuller's death in 1909, community fund-raising efforts continued until the monument's completion in 1920, with a statue of a Black Union private, with a Civil War regulation rifle, topping the monument's shaft. Almost one hundred Black Civil War veterans were buried in graves surrounding the monument, including James Fuller, who was buried at the foot of West Point's great sycamore tree.

For 23 years since the monument's erection in 1906, the African American community in Norfolk has acknowledged the sacrifices and service made by thousands of fellow African Americans who fought in our nation's wars, with particular emphasis on the Civil War. For 43 years, that tradition was neglected until rekindled by the Vice Mayor of Norfolk, the Reverend Joseph Green and his wife, Mrs. Evelyn Green in 1972. In celebration of the 45th year that Norfolk's African American community has come together to honor their dead and praise the living in their struggle to be free, I would like to encourage the continuation of this symbolic unity by briefly taking you on a historical trip recalling the sacrifices made by Norfolk's African American veterans, particularly those who lay buried in the 100 plus graves surrounding this monument.

For many years, the African American residents of Norfolk had no government-appropriated are in which to bury their dead. Even when the city allocated land at the north end of Cumberland Street and on the south side of Smith's Creek for the burial of its White citizens in 1825, African Americans were still left without a formal burial ground. The few records recounting the history of Norfolk suggests that African Americans continued the age old practice of burying their dead in back yards, vacant lots, or sundry places in or near the city. Not until 1827 did the Common Council authorize the burying of African Americans in Potter's Field, an area located immediately outside the borough limits set aside for paupers. Even so, African Americans continued to be buried in numerous undesignated locations throughout the city.

The outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 brought with it significant changes in the attitudes of African Americans and the legal structure of this nation. Between 1863 and 1865, 200,000 African Americans fought in the Civil War; 69,000 of them died. In Norfolk, over 1,000 African Americans, ranging in age from 18 to 45, enlisted in the Union Army and served faithfully in the 10th U.S. Colored Volunteers, the 1st and 2nd Colored Cavalry, the 2nd Light Artillery, and the 36th-38th Regiment Colored Infantries. These regiments distinguished themselves by securing Princess Anne and Norfolk counties from rebel infiltration, freed thousands of slaves, and fought in the battles at Wilson's Landing, Cabin Point, Fort Pocahontas, Bermuda Hundreds, Smithfield, Powhatan, New Market Heights, Chaffin's Farm, Appomattox, and Petersburg.

With the end of the Civil War and the presence of northern soldiers and missionaries, changes were instituted in Norfolk's traditional policy from exclusion to one of segregation. In keeping with these changes, the Common and Select Councils in the city of Norfolk authorized and established another Potter's Field in 1873 (briefly known as Calvary Cemetery in 1877 and located west of Elm Wood Cemetery which was built and enclosed with a substantial brick wall in 1852), for the burial of African American residents. This ordinance was most probably the result of agitation by prominent African American leaders for Norfolk's government to provide their community with a city-vested burial ground similar to the one in the White community.

Foreseeing that another cemetery for African Americans would be needed in the near future, on November 16, 1874 the Alms House Committee proposed that the Council and Norfolk's African American citizens accept the proposition that 25 acres of Thomas Ballentine's land, lying on Tanner's Creek, be purchased and designated a "Colored Cemetery" for the purpose of burying Norfolk's African American residents. This new burial ground for African Americans would then be known as Calvary Cemetery.

As the city expanded outward in the 1880's and as African Americans gained more power in the 1880's, James E. Fuller, Norfolk's first African American city councilman petitioned the Council, in 1885, to change the name of the cemetery from Potter's Field to West Point. In March 1886, Fuller further requested that a section of West Point cemetery, Section No. 20, be donated to the Directors of the Union Veterans Hall Association for the burial of members of the Grand Army of the Republic. It was not until May 31, 1906 that the efforts of Fuller and others to raise money for the construction of a monument honoring African American Civil War veterans was met with success. On May 31, 1906, the monument erected to the memory of those African American Civil War soldiers who valiantly fought for freedom was dedicated with eventually one hundred African American veterans buried in the graves surrounding the monument. It took until 1920 before the monument was completed in 1920 with the placement of a statue of an African American Union private, proudly holding a Civil War regulation rifle, topping the monument's shaft. And it was 34 years of bake sales, civil and social group meetings, dinners, raffles and concerts to raise the money from Fuller's dream of a monument dedicated to African American soldiers. Unfortunately Fuller died before seeing the monument completed.

The Civil War monument is a perpetual reminder of the blood that was proudly and willingly shed by African Americans to ensure that their descendants would not continue as an enslaved people. The figure of the soldier who tops the monument is William H. Carney, one of twenty-one Africans Americans awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for their service during the Civil War, and a native of Norfolk. The son of Ann and William Carney, William Carney was born in 1840 in Norfolk, Virginia, Although both of Carney's parents were slaves, his mother was freed by her owner upon his death. When Carney was fourteen years old, he attended a secret school taught by a local minister. At age fifteen, he worked with his father in the coasting trade while dreaming of becoming a minister because it was at this time that he "embraced the gospel." In 1856 William Carney, Sr. escaped with his family through the Underground Railroad to New Bedford, Massachusetts. While in New Bedford, Carney undertook a variety of odd jobs, including working as a seaman. He also joined a church, making plans to become a minister, until the Civil War interrupted those plans. On February 17, 1863 Carney enlisted in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, the first regiment of Black troops raised in the North for the Union Army. The first companies of the 54th were recruited in Boston, Philadelphia, and New Bedford. Carney enlisted in Company C, a unit made up mostly of men from New Bedford. By May 1863, the regiment left for the South Carolina front.

Most are already familiar with the story of the 54th Massachusetts Regiments from the film Glory; but what you may not be familiar with was the fact that the entire regiment was not killed in the attack on Fort Wagner. On July 18, 1863, the 54th spearheaded an assault on Fort Wagner, outside Charleston harbor. And although many of the soldiers in the 54th, including the color bearer, fell in the assault, Carney, who had risen to the rank of sergeant, did not. He seized the flag when the color bearer fell and although suffering from a bullet wound in the thigh, planted the flag on the parapet and kept it flying for an hour as he lay on the outer slope waiting for reinforcements to arrive. Despite the wound and the continuous barrage of bullets flying around him, Carney remained steadfast. As the reinforcements were driven back, Carney followed them, creeping on one knee with the flag still raised. He was shot twice more, in the head and shoulder, before reaching safety. In fact, when they brought Carney to the hospital, although exhausted from the loss of blood, he managed to say to his comrades "Boys, the old flag never touched the ground." His commanding officer cited him for bravery and the flag that Carney guarded so zealously was enshrined in the Massachusetts State House after the war.

On June 30, 1864 Carney was discharged because of disabilities caused by his wounds. After living briefly in California, Carney returned to New Bedford where he worked as a mail carrier for 32 years. Never forgetting his experiences, Carney became a popular speaker at Memorial Day observances, especially after being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor on May 23, 1900, 37 years after the heroism displayed at the Fort Wagner assault. On November 23, 1908 Carney was injured in an elevator accident and died on December 9, 1908 he was buried in New Bedford.

In front of the Civil War monument are over one hundred graves of African American men who fought bravely in the Civil War as privates, corporals, and sergeants. These were men such as Dick Roper, who was born a slave in Southampton County in 1840 and served as a sergeant in the 14th U.S. Colored Infantry, Heavy Artillery. Roper is a perfect example of where the desire for freedom and a better life could lead. Once the war began, Roper's owner sent him to Chapel Hill for fear that the northern troops would set him free. Despite this attempt, Roper successfully ran away and made it to federal lines where he enlisted in 1864.

Peter Phillips, also buried in one of the graves surrounding the monument, served as a private in the 2nd U.S. Colored Cavalry, a unit that distinguished itself at the Battle of New Market Heights. After the war, Phillips and his company were transferred to Brazos Santiago, Texas. After being discharged from the army, Phillips returned to the area and lived in Portsmouth where he worked as a farmer. Similarly, Isaac Reddick was a boatman from Prince George's County who enlisted in the 37th U.S. Colored Infantry on September 26, 1864. For almost two years, Reddick fought in the battles at New Market Heights, Petersburg, and Richmond. After the war, his unit was sent to fight along the Rio Grande. After his honorable discharge, Reddick returned to Norfolk where he lived and worked as a laborer. And finally, Frank Foster, who also served as a private in the 37th U.S. Colored Infantry, was an ex-slave from Norfolk who enlisted on July 29, 1864. Unlike many of the other African Americans who served in the army, Foster was literate and became a musician in Norfolk upon being discharged in 1867.

The account of Norfolk's African American cemetery history in the late 19th century is illustrative of a period during which the people set out with hope and jubilee, experienced many disappointments and fears, and ended with the abandonment of anticipated equality. Census records of 1860 and 1870 best represent the demographic change, expansion, and increasing diversification of the Black community. Supplemented with the city directories of the 1870's and 1880's, and the burial records of the city's first Black cemetery, a picture begins to form of the life and death cycles of a community recently formed out of the ashes of slavery and second-class citizenship. Rising from the hardships of the past, Norfolk's Black citizenry was born into a world where having a sense of "community" was the only haven in a racially divided society. For African Americans of Norfolk, how a loved one was interred was almost as important as how a loved one lived. When the suffering of a relative had ceased, the community had organizations to bury their dead as decently as possible.