Reeneactors from the Black Phalanx Brigade stand at attention on Saturday, Aug. 10 at the North Elba Cemetery to honor Cpl. William Appo Jr., a local African American soldier from North Elba who died during the Civil War. (Provided photo)

LAKE PLACID — A public ceremony took place at the North Elba Cemetery on Saturday morning, Aug. 10 to honor an African American soldier who died during the Civil War.

Speakers included John Brown Farm State Historic Site Manager Brendan Mills; Kathleen Thomas, daughter of researcher Charles Thomas; and Maurice Imhoff of the Black Phalanx Brigade, a national group dedicated to education, including the scholarly examination and portrayal of the history of people of African descent in the military.

A new memorial stone was placed in the old section of the Town of North Elba Cemetery this summer. The stone is in memory of Corporal William Appo Jr., who gave his life for the Union on Aug. 30, 1862, at the second Battle of Bull Run. He was one of 44 Union Army enlistees from North Elba. His father was a successful African American composer and musician who purchased 148 acres in North Elba in the 1840s in support of Gerrit Smith’s land grant project to get voting rights for Black men. In New York state, property ownership was required for Black men to vote. William Appo Sr. and family spent time in North Elba in the summer, and he eventually retired there. Appo Sr. was a friend and neighbor of the family of John Brown.

Appo Jr. was unusual in that he was a Black man who enlisted and served in a white regiment, prior to the formation of the U.S. Colored Troops, which was not created until 1863. He was one of a handful of Black men from the region to enlist and pass as white. Clearly, their fellow soldiers from the area would have known their ancestry, but they were accepted into the army before it was legal for Black men to fight. There were at least three other Black men from this region to do so and who survived the war. Several others served after 1863 in the USCT.

John Brown Farm Historic Site placed the stone with assistance from staff from the town of North Elba, and the approval of the town board. Mills had sought the placement of a proper memorial after learning of prior efforts by Lake Placid resident Charles Thomas, which were unsuccessful.

At Mills’ request, Lake Placid resident and Mr. Thomas’ daughter, Kathleen Thomas, was on hand to give a talk honoring Cpl. Appo, explaining his history as well as honoring the memory of her father, who had researched Appo’s service record and first attempted to have a Grand Army of the Republic marker placed at the Epps/Appo obelisk in 1999.

At that time, because he was not buried locally, there were objections made, and the marker was removed. However, bodies of many who fought in the Civil War never made it home, and such markers have been placed in cemeteries across the country. Recently local officials have approved both a GAR marker that was installed last year and facilitated the placement of the new stone memorial in the Appo/Epps plot.

Ms. Thomas spoke of her father’s quest to publicly honor Cpl. Appo. His research was sparked in 1997 by an article in the The Placid Pioneer, which listed North Elba Civil War soldiers. Appo Jr. was identified as a private in a “Colored Regiment” who enlisted in 1861, when there were no African American regiments.

Mr. Thomas’s research revealed that Appo actually enlisted on Sept. 15, 1861, at 18 years old, giving his occupation as farmer. He was mustered in the same day to the 30th New York (Volunteer Infantry) Company I.

During Appo’s service, the 30th participated in many skirmishes and battles with the Army of the Potomac, including White Sulphur Springs, Gainsville and Grove-ton. Appo must have served with distinction, as he was promoted to corporal on Feb. 2, 1862. His luck ran out at the Second Battle of Bull Run.

“William Appo Jr. probably died doing what a noncommissioned officer does in battle. Steadying his men making sure they are loading and firing properly. In doing so he exposed himself to enemy fire and was killed at the railroad cut. His sacrifice at Manassas would bring on the Battle of Antietam and in turn the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation,” Mills said.

Ms. Thomas said her father’s research showed that though he was initially buried with others on the battlefield, after the war, federal troops were exhumed and re-buried at the direction of the Quartermaster General’s Office. According to their final disposition, 1,700 graves were excavated from Bull Run and re-interred at Arlington National Cemetery, yet it is not known if he was laid to rest there with the Unknowns.

Two organizations dedicated to public education of Civil War history were invited to participate in the ceremony, which took place during the Civil War Reenactment Weekend, Aug. 10 and 11, at the John Brown Farm. Members of a group of reenactors from Fort Tribute (Madrid, New York), Josh Wingler of the New York 60th regiment and Patrick Hamilton-Bruen of the New York 118th attended. Others from St Lawrence County were turned back on Saturday by flooded and broken roadways due to the remnants of Hurricane Debby.

Seven reenactor/educators from the national organization, the Black Phalanx Brigade, participated in the ceremony. Maurice Imhoff addressed attendees and spoke of the heroism of Appo’s choice to answer President Abraham Lincoln’s call before Black soldiers were welcomed to the battlefield. The brigade offered a military salute to Cpl. Appo. They traveled from Michigan, New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania to engage in the event.