Just before Christmas, I paused for a few minutes in the quiet Union Bethel Cemetery in Cecilton. A chilling December breeze gently swept over this old burial ground, and as I gazed at monuments for soldiers, ministers, teachers, mothers, fathers, working people, and children, one particularly caught my attention. It was a regulation tombstone issued to soldiers by the United States Government, and etched permanently into this memorial was the name George Douglass, Co., E., 24th United States Colored Infantry.
I paused for a few moments to remember this man’s service in a long-ago war. While I lingered, nothing in this tranquil spot—noise, automobiles, or people—distracted me as I thought about this young soldier’s era. Curious about the private’s service to the country, I decided I would get some information after Christmas.
On February 23, 1865, George Douglass, the 19-year-old from Cecil County, volunteered to enlist in Co. E of the 24th regiment in Philadelphia, PA. After putting his mark, an X, on the muster forms, he was transferred to Camp William Penn. According to the enlistment papers, for serving the nation for one year, he was entitled to a $100 bounty.
Private George Douglass died on March 25, 1926. The headstone was shipped to his son Linwood Douglass of Cecilton in August 1940.