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Springfield honors Civil War’s black soldiers

SPRINGFIELD — Hundreds turned out to celebrate the 150th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation on Saturday at the Old State Capitol in Springfield.

Lincoln issued the proclamation Jan. 1, 1863. It stated “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free.” Saturday’s events honored the role of black soldiers in the Civil War.

Illinois 29th Infantry United States Colored Troops re-enactor Luther Johnson says black soldiers contributed greatly to the war’s outcome. Malcolm Beech, president of the United States Colored Troops Living History Association, says the black soldiers were brave men who fought for their own freedom.

The day included a re-enactment of Lincoln signing the proclamation and a wreath-laying honoring the United States Colored Troops and the Grand Army of the Republic.

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