Mount Zion Community Cemetery

Four African American Civil War veterans are buried in this cemetery: James Gaskins (39th U.S. Colored Infantry), Joseph Waters (5th Massachusetts Colored Cavalry), William Taylor (1st U.S. Colored Infantry), and John W. Langford (U.S. Navy). The first three were among the nearly 200,000 African Americans who served in the U.S. Colored Troops during the Civil War - a number representing 10 percent of the total number of Federal troops. Langford, who served aboard the USS Fuschia and the USS Wyandank, was among thousands of African Americans who constituted an estimated 16 percent of the U.S. Navy's manpower.

The four veterans buried here served in units that saw action in numerous battles in 1863-1865. Gaskins fought at Boydton Plank Road (Oct. 1864), other actions in the Richmond-Petersburg campaign, and at Fort Fisher in North Carolina (Dec. 1864-Jan. 1865). Waters's regiment served in the Siege of Petersburg. Taylor's regiment fought at Chaffin's Farm and New Market Heights (September 1864), around Petersburg, and at Fort Fisher. Langford's vessels in the Potomac Flotilla disrupted Confederate shipping. The men's headstones are reminders of the hundreds of African Americans from Loudoun County who served the Union cause. They fought to bring an end to more than two hundred years of slavery in the United States and to liberate the four million men, women, and children who were enslaved at the time of the war. Afterwards Gaskins, Waters, Taylor, and Langford became respected citizens in Leesburg's African American community.

Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.

Show me all markers in:  Leesburg, VA  |  Loudoun County  |  20176  |  Virginia  |  United States of America

In Memory of Richard Owings
Ealry Methodism in Leesburg
Glenfiddich House
Lee Comes to Leesburg
Old Stone Church Site
Mt. Zion United Methodist Church
Confederate Soldiers, a War Memorial
Loudoun County Courthouse
In Memory of the Heroic Dead, a War Memorial
Our Glorious Dead, a War Memorial

• GPX
• KML
• LOC

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.