A central Virginia park ranger plays the role of first Black war correspondent; ‘It is an honor’
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- A park ranger for Richmond National Battlefield Park didn't know his acting experience would come into play when he started the job. But, when it came to playing the country's first Black war correspondent, Thomas Morris Chester, he took the task seriously. Avery Lentz got his start as a park guide back in 2013 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, hopping from park to park until he landed in Central Virginia nine months ago. He then learned about the man whose life he would soon portray and his coverage of the Civil War. “I knew nothing," Lentz said. "I had to really kind of start from scratch.” Thomas Morris Chester worked for the Philadelphia Press as the paper's only Black reporter and soon the nation's first Black war correspondent. Thomas Morris Chester (Courtesy of Fort Harrison) “I read his memoirs, kind of his little biography, [and] his correspondence itself from some of the battles that he witnessed," Lentz said. Embedded with the Army of the James in 1864, Chester described battles as closely to what soldiers saw as possible. "Unlike a lot of other correspondents, he’s with these men in the trenches, he’s with them on a daily basis, you know, as shells are falling, you know, snipers are taking potshots and whatnot," Lentz said. "He’s asking them how their days are going, and then he of course is there for the election.” Soldiers at Fort Harrison during the Civil War. (Courtesy of Fort Harrison) It was in Chester's book, "Black Civil War Correspondence," that park rangers discovered a previously overlooked story Chester reported from Election Day on Nov. 8, 1864. -- Abraham Lincoln against George McClellan. Because of an Ohio law allowing absentee soldier voting, 194 soldiers among the Army of the James were able to cast their ballots right on the Fort Harrison battlefield in Henrico. Chester was one of the only eyewitnesses of the day, documenting that every single vote soldiers cast were for Lincoln, who ultimately won and served a second term as president. A drawing that portrays the soldiers voting on Election Day in 1864. (Courtesy of Fort Harrison) The park commemorated the 160th anniversary of that vote in November, debuting Lentz's role as Chester, answering questions for guests in an interactive portion of the tour. “You can’t necessarily nail down exactly every minute details," Lentz said. "But you can have a little bit more flexibility in creating that character.” Lentz prepped for four months, even trying to nail down Chester’s voice. He gathered clues of what he could have sounded like from Chester’s education level and English studies. Plus, Lentz banked on the fact that he and Chester are both from central Pennsylvania. "This eloquence that he had with his voice was probably very adamant," Lentz said. Thomas Morris Chester (Courtesy of Fort Harrison) Lentz, of African-American dissent himself, said getting to play Chester keeps his memory alive. "It is an honor," Lentz said. "To be able to step into his shoes, to tell his story. I like to think that in a way, he’s here. And not just him, but the men that he covered and the men that he, whose story he told." After the Union won the Civil War in 1865, Chester traveled around Europe. Eventually, he settled in Louisiana but passed away in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1892 at the age of 58 -- remaining forever as a historic part of America's story.
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RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- A park ranger for Richmond National Battlefield Park didn't know his acting experience would come into play when he started the job. But, when it came to playing the country's first Black war correspondent, Thomas Morris Chester, he took the task seriously.
Avery Lentz got his start as a park guide back in 2013 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, hopping from park to park until he landed in Central Virginia nine months ago. He then learned about the man whose life he would soon portray and his coverage of the Civil War.
“I knew nothing," Lentz said. "I had to really kind of start from scratch.”
Thomas Morris Chester worked for the Philadelphia Press as the paper's only Black reporter and soon the nation's first Black war correspondent.
Thomas Morris Chester (Courtesy of Fort Harrison)
“I read his memoirs, kind of his little biography, [and] his correspondence itself from some of the battles that he witnessed," Lentz said.
Embedded with the Army of the James in 1864, Chester described battles as closely to what soldiers saw as possible.
"Unlike a lot of other correspondents, he’s with these men in the trenches, he’s with them on a daily basis, you know, as shells are falling, you know, snipers are taking potshots and whatnot," Lentz said. "He’s asking them how their days are going, and then he of course is there for the election.”
Soldiers at Fort Harrison during the Civil War. (Courtesy of Fort Harrison)
It was in Chester's book, "Black Civil War Correspondence," that park rangers discovered a previously overlooked story Chester reported from Election Day on Nov. 8, 1864. -- Abraham Lincoln against George McClellan.
Because of an Ohio law allowing absentee soldier voting, 194 soldiers among the Army of the James were able to cast their ballots right on the Fort Harrison battlefield in Henrico. Chester was one of the only eyewitnesses of the day, documenting that every single vote soldiers cast were for Lincoln, who ultimately won and served a second term as president.
A drawing that portrays the soldiers voting on Election Day in 1864. (Courtesy of Fort Harrison)
The park commemorated the 160th anniversary of that vote in November, debuting Lentz's role as Chester, answering questions for guests in an interactive portion of the tour.
“You can’t necessarily nail down exactly every minute details," Lentz said. "But you can have a little bit more flexibility in creating that character.”
Lentz prepped for four months, even trying to nail down Chester’s voice. He gathered clues of what he could have sounded like from Chester’s education level and English studies. Plus, Lentz banked on the fact that he and Chester are both from central Pennsylvania.
"This eloquence that he had with his voice was probably very adamant," Lentz said.
Thomas Morris Chester (Courtesy of Fort Harrison)
Lentz, of African-American dissent himself, said getting to play Chester keeps his memory alive.
"It is an honor," Lentz said. "To be able to step into his shoes, to tell his story. I like to think that in a way, he’s here. And not just him, but the men that he covered and the men that he, whose story he told."
After the Union won the Civil War in 1865, Chester traveled around Europe. Eventually, he settled in Louisiana but passed away in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1892 at the age of 58 -- remaining forever as a historic part of America's story.
