PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A forgotten African-American veteran of the War of 1812 has received military honors at Eastern Cemetery, 150 years after his death.
Military honors for Richard Hill were delivered Saturday by local America Legion and Veteran of Foreign Wars posts. Hill’s new headstone, paid for by the federal government, stands beside the graves of Portland’s black American Revolutionary War veterans.
The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/PF1nQT) says Larry Glatz of South Portland came across Hill while researching Mainers who were part of the federal troops in the War of 1812.
He’s believed to have witnessed the British attack on Fort McHenry, which inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star Spangled Banner.” He died at the hands of his own son in 1861.
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Information from: Portland Press Herald, https://www.pressherald.com
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
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