The Juneteenth themed Celebrate Freedom festival parade on Saturday in Saluda passed by the grave of Sam Mayo, who was among federal troops that liberated enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865.
Mayo is buried at Antioch Baptist Church, which is to the rear of the Middlesex County Historic Courthouse in Saluda.
Spinning flags (left) give a festive flair to the Saluda Juneteenth Parade Saturday. Members of the Vigil for Racial Justice and Peace carry signs promoting unity.
Mayo was the great-grandfather of Gloucester native and family historian Gloria Waller. Waller and Bessida Cauthorne White of Middlesex are co-founders of the Middle Peninsula African-American Genealogical and Historical Society (MPAAGHS). White is the society’s president.
The connection between Juneteenth and Saluda was featured in a story written by White, which points out that the Civil War didn’t end totally with Lee’s surrender on April 9, 1865. Battles continued in far off places, such as Texas.
White’s detailed story notes that the final Civil War battle may have been the Battle of Palmito Hill on May 12 and 13, 1865 near Brownsville, Texas.
White cites research by Harvard University historian Annette Gordon Reed indicating that the surrender of the Trans-Mississippi Army two weeks later perhaps led to General Gordon Granger’s now famous freedom order.
Local connection
White wrote, “General Granger arrived in Galveston on June 19 with 2,000 federal troops, many who were Black soldiers.” One of them was Sam Mayo who had escaped slavery in 1863 and enlisted at Fort Monroe in the U.S. Colored Troops (USCT), part of the U.S. Army. He was just 19 years old.
Mayo fought in Virginia battles during the Civil War. After the surrender he was assigned to Gen. Granger’s 25th Corps Cavalry Brigade that restored order to Texas, wrote White.
Mayo served with this brigade until February 1866 and then settled in northern Gloucester.
White’s story notes that according to Gloria Waller’s research “many persons from the Middle Peninsula served during the Civil War as members of the USCT and as Union sailors. In fact, other Civil War veterans including USCT member Beverly Harris are buried at Antioch Baptist Church.”
White’s story was one of many documents on display at the Juneteenth celebration on Saturday at Middlesex High School.
Anyone interested in researching African-American ancestry is invited to join the Middle Peninsula African-American Genealogical and Historical Society (MPAAGHS). The email address is mpaaghs.va@gmail.com, or call 804-758-5163. For information, visit mpaagenealogicalsociety.org.
