New Jersey Veteran Restores Once Neglected, Civl War-Era Graveyard to Honor Black Military Heroes

Longtime Camden resident, Floyd White has been working to ensure that Black veterans from his community are properly honored and remembered, even after they’re gone.

Dempsey Butler Cemetery, a small, historically Black veterans' graveyard was barren and neglected just five years ago.

Tucked behind homes and adjacent to a larger cemetery, the burial ground was easy to overlook.

There were no markers and the only feature identifying the grounds was the tombstone of its founder, standing alone in the middle of the site as its lone centerpiece. A monument that marked the cemetery was even stolen several years ago and likely sold, community members said.

"The only thing here was the tombstone, there was nothing else, so it was empty," White said.

The significance of the burial ground was nearly lost until White and other local volunteers stepped in.

As a veteran with nearly four decades of military service, White has spearheaded efforts to restore the cemetery and preserve its history.

His nonprofit, the Woodland Community Development Corporation have made strides to revitalize the site over the past few years. They added markers on the graves of the eight Black Civil War veterans buried there, replaced the stolen monument with a new one outside the cemetery gates and routinely switch out the American flag overlooking the grounds.

White, who is a pastor at a church just a few blocks from the cemetery, also regularly holds ceremonies at the site to honor Black veterans.

In 35-degree weather earlier this month, White gave a presentation as a small group of veterans and community members gathered to recognize those who served in World War II.

Where they were standing is one of Camden’s often-overlooked historical landmarks, White said in his presentation that day. The graveyard, located at Ferry Avenue and Charles Street, was established in the 1800s by businessman and abolitionist Dempsey Daniel Butler.

After being denied burial plots by white cemetery owners, Butler founded the site as a resting place for local U.S. Colored Troops veterans and other Black residents.

Butler, who’s buried at the site with his wife, was a local philanthropist. He used his wealth to advance civil rights in Camden during a time when South Jersey was hostile to the idea of equality for formerly enslaved people.

“A few years ago, this place looked horrible, but they’ve really cleaned it up, so I’m glad to be a part of this,” said Jacquelyn Dixon, a Lindenwold resident who attended the ceremony.

Dixon, a Gold Star Mother — a woman who has lost a child in service — often participates in ceremonies and volunteers at Butler Cemetery.

She lost her son, Anthony, 20 years ago when he was killed while serving in Iraq. He was just 20-years-old and had joined the Army right out of high school. In her hometown, there’s a street named after him, Dixon said.

“He will never not be missed,” she said.

Other legacies reflected on and honored that day included those of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black military aviators in the United States, who played an important role during World War II.

“We come to be part of this ceremony so people realize and understand that it is because of men of color who served in the armed forces that we are able to have the freedoms we have,” said Melvin Payne, president of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen.

The Airmen, also known as the Red Tails, were renowned for having the fewest number of bombers shot down during the war. One of the oldest living Tuskegee Airmen from South Jersey is Eugene J. Richardson Jr., Payne said, holding a poster signed by Richardson.

A Camden native, Richardson dreamt of flying after attending an Ohio airshow featuring Black stunt fliers in the 1930s. At 17, he left Camden for Tuskegee University in Alabama, where he completed combat training and served as an airman, just a month before the war ended in May 1945.

These Black soldiers, who fought in the Civil War and WWII, often returned home only to face another war — one against racism and violence, said Robert Bowell, a captain with the 22nd United States Colored Infantry.

“It’s all got an overlaying sadness, because these people did risk their lives...thinking that when the war was over, they were going to have all the same freedoms as rest of the country has promised,” he said.

White said the spirit of Black soldiers and their often overlooked history is why he continues to shed light on Butler Cemetery and honor veterans.

All of next year, his organization will be holding various events to continue honoring the graveyard, Tuskegee Airmen like Richardson and other veterans.

“This is why we’re doing what we’re doing...we understand that this is sacred ground,” White said, standing near Dempsey Butler’s tombstone.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

©2024 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit nj.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.