The Union Soldier Campaign is a program of

USA/UNC Walk for Health

Thanks for supporting our efforts to

promote the values and ideals of America.

Union Soldier Campaign holds march calling for UNC to change Tar Heels nickname to Rams – August 10, 2020 

CBS17 coverage: August 10, 2020

 News and Observer coverage: July 14, 2020

Click here: CBS 17 Raleigh news coverage – Group calls for change to UNC’s ‘Tar Heels’ nickname – 7/14/20

Click here; News and Observer article: Does UNC’s ‘Tar Heels’ name celebrate the Confederacy? Some think it’s time for change – 7/14/20

Click here: ABC 8 WRIC Richmond news coverage – 7/4/2020

Silent Sam video (satire) – Published September 10, 2018

   Spectrum News coverage: June 27, 2020

   Spectrum News coverage: June 9, 2020

Click here for News and Observer coverage: Protesters call for Confederate monument’s removal – 6/9/20

Union Soldier Campaign theme song:

Convict The President by The Union Soldiers

(feat. William Thorpe)

Union soldiers (1861-1865) demonstrated remarkable patriotism, valor, and morality. Furthermore, Union soldiers fought to preserve and expand full civil rights and Constitutional freedoms to all Americans and are the best representation of the oath of office that all elected officials take when sworn into office: “I affirm that I will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.”             

Objectives of the Union Soldier Campaign

• Increase interest – All members of society should play an active role in the political and economic decisions that affect their lives.
• Increase political participation – i.e., voter registration and turnout
• Increase the number of progressive public officials 
• Raise issues that would not otherwise be raised: 
  1. Free or low cost tuition and flexible admissions policies at any institution of higher learning that receives public tax funds. 
  2. WE THE PEOPLE must press the issue of poverty in the national political arena.
  3. WE THE PEOPLE must address the numerous problems our elders face. 
  4. Physical fitness – encourage everyone to exercise more regardless of age as a practical preventive solution to chronic personal health care problems. 
  5. Environmental abuse – Resources should be devoted to the preservation and conservation of the natural environment and technological decisions must take into account the well-being of future generations.
  6. Jobs – Work must be freely available to all. It should be organized cooperatively with special attention to providing meaning, dignity, and satisfaction.

• Raise the hopes of young people – Inspire children to be anything they want to be. Help remove thoughts of racial inferiority from the minds of young people of color and help increase their self-esteem. Encourage the nation’s youth to refrain from using dangerous drugs. 

“The reasons for the Union Soldier Campaign are relevant on either side of any  general election. This Campaign is a way for poor and powerless people to gain a sense of self-respect and dignity. Plus, we have an opportunity to heal a nation.”                                                                                                                                     -William Thorpe

William Thorpe, The Union Soldier, stands guard at the Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville, VA during his all-day (17 consecutive hours) stand on May 9, 2019 to raise awareness of Union soldiers. Click here for WHSV news coverage.

Click here: How Black Union Soldiers Went from Slavery to Forever Free (3 minute video)

   Susan Bro stands with the Union Soldier (William Thorpe) for 6 consecutive hours in front of the Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville, VA. Bro is the mother of Heather Heyer, the young woman who was killed while peacefully protesting a neo-Nazi and white supremacist rally in Charlottesville on August 12, 2017. (Photo taken May 9, 2019) 

Daily Tar Heel – Meet the Union Soldier

Daily Progress – NC Man plans pro-Union vigil

“True peace is not merely the absence of some negative force, it is the presence of justice.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Fire of Freedom

Abraham Galloway and the Slaves’ Civil War

By David S. Cecelski

Abraham H. Galloway (1837-1870) was a fiery young slave rebel, radical abolitionist, and Union spy who rose out of bondage to become one of the most significant and stirring black leaders in the South during the Civil War. Throughout his brief, mercurial life, Galloway fought against slavery and injustice. He risked his life behind enemy lines, recruited black soldiers for the North, and fought racism in the Union army’s ranks. He also stood at the forefront of an African American political movement that flourished in the Union-occupied parts of North Carolina, even leading a historic delegation of black southerners to the White House to meet with President Lincoln and to demand the full rights of citizenship. He later became one of the first black men elected to the North Carolina legislature.

Long hidden from history, Galloway’s story reveals a war unfamiliar to most of us. As David Cecelski writes, “Galloway’s Civil War was a slave insurgency, a war of liberation that was the culmination of generations of perseverance and faith.” This riveting portrait illuminates Galloway’s life and deepens our insight into the Civil War and Reconstruction as experienced by African Americans in the South.