LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- For the first time, more than a dozen Black veterans were recognized for their service after more than 100 years.
Sixteen U.S. military veterans, all of whom were Black, were buried in unmarked graves at St. Louis Cemetery on Barret Avenue. But on Monday, they were honored as part of Veterans Day during a ceremony.
For many years, few people knew they were at the cemetery.
"I had to catch my breath first because I couldn't believe what I was seeing, but that's a long road,"Â retired Master Sergeant Jo Ann Orr said.
More than 1,600 formerly enslaved people were buried in unmarked graves in an area of St. Louis Cemetery between 1867 and 1937. Local organizations worked together on the Unmarked Graves Project to identify those people to give them recognition.
There is a married couple, Madison and Kitty Smith, buried at the cemetery who were known to assist freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad. There are also veterans who served as Buffalo soldiers in the Civil War and World War I.
"The last word on their military records is the word 'free,'"Â Deacon Ned Berghausen said. "They won their own freedom through force of arms and they helped preserve the Union and to win the Civil War through their service. They certainly deserved to be recognized, to be remembered and to be marked."
Jefferson Hayden was one of the Civil War veterans buried at the cemetery in Louisville. He fought in the Second Battle of Saltville on Dec. 20, 1864. Hayden fought in close combat against Confederate forces and severely bled after being cut on the arm with a sword, but he continued to fight. He was later shot in the leg during the battle. Hayden was born in Anderson County, Kentucky and was enslaved by the founder of Wild Turkey bourbon, James Ripy.Â
16 of those veterans were thanked for their service for the first time on Veterans Day.Â
"Veterans, veterans, thank you for your service," Orr said. "They've waited over 500 years to hear it. It's just time."
Local organizations now have a goal to identify all of the people buried at the cemetery and place a headstone for each person buried.
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