The stone is weathered — taller and older than its neighbors. The man’s story passed from living memory long ago; it now hovers between written history and deep time. But it’s a great story, one worth preserving.

Charles “Albert” Waters’ friends and fellow soldiers purchased the monument that marks his grave. Its dedication ceremony on Memorial Day 1899 was attended by the A.G. Reed Post 105, Grand Army of the Republic; and Company E of the 15th Regiment, Pennsylvania National Guard.

A nice turnout, but small compared with his funeral 10 months earlier, when most of Butler came to walk Waters home.

According to an undated article in the Butler Citizen, Waters’ funeral service on Aug. 12, 1898, was “the talk of the town for weeks.”

It was attended by “all ministers in the city and several from the county.” The lengthy procession up Main Street to North Cemetery was headed by the Butler Germania Band, carriages for Waters’ widow and children, and the hearse bearing his remains. Behind the hearse came A.G. Reed Post 105; Camp 45 of the Union Veteran Legion; Company G, 21st Regiment Provisional Guard; six Volunteer Fire Departments; and hundreds of civilians.

At the cemetery, the hillside surrounding Waters’ grave “was crowded with people of all walks and vocations in the city.”

Who was this man? War hero? Senator? Banker? Industrialist? None of those. Waters was just a volunteer private in the 15th Regiment of the Pennsylvania National Guard. He died in a hospital ward, not the field of battle. And he was African-American.

Waters was born circa 1860 in Libertytown, Md. Records of his early years are practically nonexistent, but we know that he made his way to Pennsylvania in the late 1870s.

His decision to move north made sense; in the mid-1800s, Maryland was not the best place for an ambitious young Black man to make his fortune. And Waters was determined to build an exceptionally bright future for himself.

Waters left Maryland circa 1877, traveled across Pennsylvania, and eventually arrived in Butler. Why Waters settled here is unknown, but 1880 census records indicate that he had obtained a good position as a servant in the household of prominent attorney John M. Thompson.

In 1881, Waters volunteered for the National Guard of Pennsylvania in Butler’s 15th Regiment, Company E, even though he could not enlist as a soldier. At that time, only white men were permitted to serve in the National Guard.

Waters immediately started a campaign to break through that barrier. He began by accepting the only job men of color were permitted to in the guard — cook/orderly.

The day after he reported for duty, Waters began petitioning Company E’s captain to enlist him as a soldier. While he worked on persuading the officer, Waters set about winning the admiration of every soldier in his unit by working longer, harder and more willingly than any of them.

His efforts paid off — the captain eventually relented on one condition: all of Company E had to agree to Waters’ enlistment. When every single man voted to admit him, Waters became the first (and for decades the only) Black soldier in the Pennsylvania National Guard.

Why was Albert so determined to serve in the local volunteer militia?

We can’t know for certain, but several possibilities present themselves. Growing up in Maryland in the 1860s, he would have witnessed institutionalized slavery and the role that Black Union soldiers played in hastening its end. While serving in Thompson’s household, Waters likely noted the deference accorded his employer, a Civil War veteran with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Perhaps most importantly, he observed young men in Company E — including Thompson’s son, William — participating in public events such as presidential inaugurations, expositions at the State Fair in Harrisburg, and local parades.

For any young man with aspirations, service in the guard afforded unique opportunities to be noticed, forge lifelong social connections and further his ambitions.

Over the next 17 years, Waters continued making his mark in Butler.

He became an active member of and teacher at the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1891, he married Minerva Holmes, daughter of Butler pioneers Robert and Euphemia Holmes.

He ran for county corner as “C. Albert Waters” in 1896. He didn’t win, but by unanimous vote “showing the goodwill prevailing in the company,” Waters was elected to Company E’s board of directors (Butler Citizen, Jan. 13, 1898).

Later that year, the United States went to war with Spain over the control of strategically located Caribbean and Pacific islands. Pennsylvania’s Gov. Daniel Hastings called for state militia men to muster and prepare to assist regular Army troops.

Company E answered, including Pvt. Waters, whose age and status as a married man with four children would have legitimately excused him had he chosen to stay at home.

On April 28, volunteers from across northwest Pennsylvania converged on Butler to take trains for Camp Hastings near Harrisburg. The entire city turned out to give the soldiers a grand sendoff. Residents served the troops coffee, sandwiches, and pie, then paraded with them through town to the train station.

When the 15th Regiment arrived in Harrisburg, several National Guardsmen objected to mustering in with a black soldier. The Butler men would have none of that; their friend and fellow soldier Albert Waters remained in camp!

The 15th stayed at Camp Hastings until June 11, when the Army dispatched the volunteer soldiers to help regular troops defend the Potomac River. Excitement ran high; many of the Butler soldiers were eager to return home with tales of battlefield glory like those told by their Civil War veteran fathers and uncles.

Their own wartime experience was much different. Men of the 15th spent the summer of 1898 cooking, digging latrines, hauling firewood, burning trash, moving tents and pulling guard duty at Fort Washington, Md.

No matter how often they burned rubbish or dug fresh latrines to maintain sanitary conditions, typhoid fever struck the camp in late summer. Soldiers stationed further south suffered dreadful outbreaks; Fort Washington was spared the worst of it.

But by mid-July, Albert and several other men fell ill with typhoid. In his Aug. 4 “Our Boys In Camp” newsletter for the Butler Citizen, Commander E.H. Negley wrote that although Albert was hospitalized with typhoid, he was being very well cared for. Five days later, Com. Negley shared news of the worst.Later that year, the United States went to war with Spain over the control of strategically located Caribbean and Pacific islands. Pennsylvania Gov. Daniel Hastings called for state militia men to muster and prepare to assist regular Army troops.

Company E answered, including Pvt. Waters, whose age and status as a married man with four children would have legitimately excused him, had he chosen to stay at home.

On April 28, 1898, volunteers from across northwest Pennsylvania converged on Butler to take trains for Camp Hastings near Harrisburg. The entire city turned out to give the soldiers a grand sendoff. Residents served the troops coffee, sandwiches and pie, then paraded with them through town to the train station.

When the 15th Regiment arrived in Harrisburg, several National Guardsmen objected to mustering in with a Black soldier. The Butler men would have none of that; their friend and fellow soldier Waters remained in camp!

The 15th stayed at Camp Hastings until June 11, when the Army dispatched the volunteer soldiers to help regular troops defend the Potomac River. Excitement ran high; many of the Butler soldiers were eager to return home with tales of battlefield glory, like those told by their Civil War veteran fathers and uncles.

Their own wartime experience was much different. Men of the 15th spent the summer of 1898 cooking, digging latrines, hauling firewood, burning trash, moving tents and pulling guard duty at Fort Washington, Md.

No matter how often they burned rubbish or dug fresh latrines to maintain sanitary conditions, typhoid fever struck the camp in late summer. Soldiers stationed further south suffered dreadful outbreaks; Fort Washington was spared the worst.

But by mid-July, Waters and several other men fell ill with typhoid. In his Aug. 4 “Our Boys In Camp” newsletter for the Butler Citizen, Commander E.H. Negley wrote that although Waters was hospitalized with typhoid, he was being very well cared for. Five days later, Com. Negley shared news of the worst.

“August 9, 1898 — Charles Albert Waters died of typhoid fever in the hospital here early this morning. He was a faithful and efficient soldier, true and companionable comrade, and an upright righteous man.“

That evening his comrades and officers conducted a memorial service for Pvt. Waters, then a special guard escorted his remains to Fort Washington’s river landing to begin his journey home. They, and the people of Butler who received his body, regarded Waters with the highest esteem.

Waters was born with no social or economic advantages, but he did possess a fierce determination to succeed on his own terms. Many men he served with were privileged sons of Butler’s professional class; certainly not one of them had to think twice about his right to serve in the National Guard.

Eventually they, and so many others, understood how much strength of will and character it took for Waters to create a place for himself in their ranks, their community and their affections.

Jennifer Ford, PhD, is the executive director of the Butler County Historical Society.