Gettysburg is steeped in Civil War history, but one of its most overlooked narratives—the history of its Black community—is about to receive a long-overdue acknowledgment. This month, Lincoln Cemetery, Gettysburg’s only surviving Black burial ground, will undergo a significant transformation. Volunteers will gather to place grave markers at over 130 unmarked graves recently discovered through ground-penetrating radar (GPR).

Jean Green, President of the Lincoln Cemetery Association, has been leading this effort. “The cemetery was established in 1867 as a final resting place for Gettysburg’s Black citizens,” she explains. “It is the only concrete evidence that there was a Black community here.”