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Friend,
On the grounds of a museum in North Carolina is the site of a fierce battle in the waning months of the Civil War, where 1,600 Black soldiers in the Union Army staged a frontal assault on entrenchments protecting the Confederacy’s last remaining open seaport, a critical link in the supply line that kept the war alive.
Until recently, there were no markers to honor the valor of the Black troops who took heavy losses in the Battle of Forks Road and paved the way for the fall of Fort Fisher in Wilmington and the end of the war two months later.
But now, as the nation continues to fight against systemic racism, and the movement to remove Confederate iconography gains momentum, these Black Union soldiers and the pivotal battle they fought are being recognized.
To honor the United States Colored Troops (USCT) soldiers who fought in the Battle of Forks Road – 80% of whom had been previously enslaved – artist Stephen Hayes created “Boundless,” a sculpture that was unveiled last month on the grounds of what is now the Cameron Art Museum, where the battle was fought over several days in February 1865.
If not for the discovery of the site in 1980 and the investigation that followed, the critical role the Black soldiers played in the assault that helped end the Civil War might have been lost to history. But now, their gallantry is memorialized in Hayes’ work.
“It’s unfortunate that the contributions of the ‘Colored Troops’ who courageously served a country that devalued them routinely go unnoticed in American history,” said Lecia Brooks, chief of staff for the Southern Poverty Law Center, which works in partnership with communities across the South and beyond to dismantle white supremacy and advance human rights. “These truths of Black heroism are conveniently excluded from American history books. But Mr. Hayes’ ‘Boundless’ sculpture rights that wrong. While his piece focuses on Wilmington’s Battle of Forks Road, it also imparts stories of untold Black regiments that led Union advances during the Civil War, understanding that their survival was unlikely.”
Hayes, an assistant professor of art, art history and visual studies at Duke University, spent two years creating the life-size bronze sculpture, made in part from the casts of Black men whose ancestors are tied to the battle site and its story. Hayes told the SPLC he hopes the sculpture will help people understand the bravery exhibited by Black Union soldiers and the connection of Black history to Wilmington’s future.
“It’s not a sculpture of being worn or beaten down,” Hayes, 38, said. “It’s a message of pride, a sense of honor that I hope moves people to think about the past, present and future.”
Heather Wilson, the museum’s deputy director, commissioned Hayes to create the 2,500-pound sculpture.
“We knew from the beginning that we wanted this work depicting the USCT to be figurative,” said Wilson. “Stephen’s work, which navigates the narrative of agency and Black bodies in America, captivated our imaginations. We reached out to Stephen in early 2019 after looking at his work and talking with other museums across the state. It has been an honor to work with Stephen and to watch him grow over these past two years.”
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In solidarity,
Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center
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