From Border States to National Cemeteries
When the U.S. had to increase enlistments to handle the burden of manpower demands for the battlefield, a draft was legislated in 1863. A provision was written in that gave a drafted person the choice to pay someone who was willing to serve in their place. This was called substitution.
In the exhibit above, follow the path that four Black Americans from the Border States took in the Civil War. Through examination of enlistment records and battle reports, the story of Privates Jacob Saunders, James Murray, Thomas Jones and Harrison Lockwood illustrates the controversial nature of the substitution provision. Regardless of how they enlisted, each man served their country and were buried in National Cemeteries.
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Honor Deferred: Mary Jean Sturdevant and the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II
Inspired by a visit from Charles Lindbergh to her hometown in 1927, Mary Jean Sturdevant learned how to fly in a civilian pilot program in the late 1930s. During World War II, she joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), a group of highly trained female pilots that ferried newly manufactured aircraft to military installations and served as instructors for male pilots. During the war, the WASPs were considered contractors and were not recognized as Veterans until 1977. Sturdevant passed away in 2017 and is interred at Tahoma National Cemetery.
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