A North Carolina county has finalized plans for a granite marker that will honor local slaves who served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.
The Charlotte Observer reports ( http://bit.ly/OOgDeh ) that the marker honoring 10 black men, including nine slaves, is believed to be one of the first of its kind in the country. The marker will go in a brick walkway at the Old County Courthouse in Monroe, in front of a Civil War monument.
The county's historic preservation commission on Thursday unanimously approved the plan for a marker that reads, "In Memory of Union County's Confederate Pensioners of Color." It goes on to recognize all African Americans who served in "The War Between The States."
Historians say virtually no black men fought for the Confederacy, and that it's difficult to say how many were forced into military service or followed their owners into battle.