Decatur, AL – A black Union soldier will finally get the grave marker historians say he deserves in a ceremony that is expected to bring hundreds to a Decatur cemetery on Saturday.
Amos McKinney, a former slave, will become the second known black Civil War veteran in Morgan and Lawrence counties with a military marker. Glenda McWhirter Todd, who researched and wrote about the 1st Alabama Cavalry USV, provided McKinney's military records to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Peggy Towns, a congressional aide for the 5th Congressional District, and the Rev. Wylheme Ragland announced plans in November to index the historic Magnolia-Sykes Cemetery. Towns escalated her plans to recreate the lives of the people buried there when she learned about McKinney.
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