PETERSBURG - May 23, 1886 there appeared in a predecessor to this paper an obituary or death notice honoring the life of "a colored Confederate." That man, Richard "Dick" Poplar, was buried alongside some of his comrades in Blandford Cemetery on Memorial Hill in an unmarked grave. Now, 118 years after his death, he will receive a proper headstone and a memorial service, courtesy of The Richard Poplar Memorial Committee. "There died in this city Saturday morning at the residence of Mr. James Muirhead, a Virginian who cast his fortunes with the Confederacy, and endured many months of weary imprisonment...
