RINCON -- About 50 people gathered in the Jerusalem Lutheran Church Cemetery on Saturday to show their appreciation for freedom and to honor a group of African-Americans who died trying to achieve it more than 150 years ago. Several children particpated in the event that featured music and a wreath-laying ceremony led by Masons from the Widows Sons Lodge in Guyton. In 1864, more than 100 freed slaves lost their lives as they followed Union troops led by Gen. Jefferson C. Davis. As the former slaves were about to make their way across the creek, the troops removed a temporary pontoon bridge.

The former slaves, unfamiliar with its deep, swift water, entered the creek anyway and many drowned. The bodies, including those of many women and children, were buried in the Jerusalem Lutheran Church Cemetery.