For the descendants of Union veteran Doc McWilliams, the booming sound of cannon fire that filled Oak Hill Cemetery on Saturday afternoon was more than just a C
A group called the Sons of Union Veterans will dedicate a new headstone for Doc McWilliams Saturday afternoon at Lawrence's Oak Hill Cemetery. McWilliams, a Black Union soldier in the Civil War, was an early civil rights activist following the War Between the States.
By all accounts, Doc McWilliams is a Lawrencian worth remembering. Born enslaved, McWilliams came to Lawrence in 1862 and the next year enlisted in the Union a