Black Confederate veteran to get proper memorial at Blandford

progress index ^ | 17 sept 2004 | F.M. WIGGINGS

[stainlessbanner]

PETERSBURG - May 23, 1886 there appeared in a predecessor to this paper an obituary or death notice honoring the life of "a colored Confederate."

That man, Richard "Dick" Poplar, was buried alongside some of his comrades in Blandford Cemetery on Memorial Hill in an unmarked grave.

Now, 118 years after his death, he will receive a proper headstone and a memorial service, courtesy of The Richard Poplar Memorial Committee.

"There died in this city Saturday morning at the residence of Mr. James Muirhead, a Virginian who cast his fortunes with the Confederacy, and endured many months of weary imprisonment rather than desert his friends and comrades in their misfortune. He was an honest, industrious man, highly esteemed by old Confederate friends and comrades," according to the memorial notice in the May 23, 1886 Petersburg Index-Appeal.

Robert Harrison, a Norfolk librarian, will portray Poplar in the ceremony Saturday in Blandford Cemetery.

"The site we have set up tells the whole story," said fellow organizer Ashleigh Moody. The committee has set up a Web site featuring a historical sketch of Poplar's life, www.craterroad.com/richardpoplar.html. "There is no question as to the esteem he was held in by the Petersburg community."

Moody said that the reason the organization is holding the event is to help to preserve history and to keep the memory of Poplar alive and for all such distinguished veterans.

"We feel as though this is a particularly historical event," said Moody.

"While he was imprisoned he said 'I'm a Jeff Davis man through and through and won't desert my country,'" Harrison said.

Harrison has been both an amateur and now professional historian for most of his life. He grew up in Valley Forge, Pa. As he grew older he became more interested in re-enacting, responded to an advertisement and joined the 37th Texas Cavalry Co. B. He has reached the rank of first sergeant.

"It's hard to put one's thumb on the exact number of Confederate soldiers of color, but the most accurate estimates put it at between 60,000 and 100,000 of which about 15,000 actually saw the elephant, or saw combat action," Harrison said. "Part of the reason it's hard to track the number of Confederates of colors is that the Confederacy only kept track if you were part of the unit, not your race."

Of the facts about Poplar that are certain, Harrison said that he was a free black man who worked as a chef at the Boling Brook Hotel, and later joined the 13th Virginia Cavalry. He participated in every action the unit was engaged in until his capture following the Confederate loss at Gettysburg. Following his capture he was taken to Point Lookout prison in Maryland.

"He never swallowed the bitter pill," said Harrison. "He never swore against the south."

Poplar was released from prison in mid-1865 and returned to Petersburg where he resumed his duties as a chef at the hotel.

"When he died it's reported that the pallbearers for his funeral were a virtual who's who of the Confederacy," said Harrison. "Whether you feel the North or the South was in the right, you have to recognize that he stood by what he felt was right and that should be an example for all of us. He was living in rags not knowing when his next meal would be and still stood by what he felt was right."

The events begin at 2 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Hill in Blandford Cemetery. There will be a memorial service and gravestone dedication. Following the events at Blandford Cemetery, there will be a free concert in Poplar's honor at the Southside Railroad Station on River Street in Old Towne.

Moody said that if there is any rain Saturday, the cemetery events will be moved to Blandford Church.

[wideawake]

True Virginia patriot bump.

[Denver Ditdat]

American veteran bump.

[4CJ]

Kudos to a true Confederate. Deo vindice!

[cyborg]

BTTT

[ArmyBratCutie]

rest in peace fellow southerner
until we meet again


this reminds me of the outfit the movie "Glory" was about.. they had been found and given a proper buriel the year before the movie was made....what a GREAT movie I love it..
regardless of the north/south they were all Americans... to me that matters

[MeanWestTexan]

Fascinating

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

Bless all men of honor who perform honorable deeds as they best see fit. RIP, Confederate veteran.

[Spirited]

"When he died it's reported that the pallbearers for his funeral were a virtual who's who of the Confederacy,"

This is why I am Virginian by choice.