Harlan, William E.

Corporal William E. Harlan

Courtesy of Elma Adkisson

Quick Facts

Significance:

Corporal - 804th Pioneer Infantry, Company K

Place of Birth:

Cemetery Community, Rutherford County, Tennessee

Date of Birth:

August 10, 1895

Place of Death:

Rutherford County, Tennessee

Date of Death:

November 18, 1979

Place of Burial:

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Cemetery Name:

Holland-Harlan Family Cemetery

William (Will) E. Harlan, born August 10, 1895, lived in Cemetery Community on the property his grandfather, William Holland owned. He maintained a strong connection to family and the land throughout his life.

As Will passed into adulthood, the rights his grandfather had earned as a sergeant in the 111th United States Colored Infantry had been eroded by laws that segregated Black communities and restricted voting rights. In 1918 Will followed in his grandfather's footsteps serving as a corporal in Company K of the 804th Pioneer Infantry. Will and his comrades built and repaired roads, bridges, and fortifications sometimes serving at the front lines.

Will returned to his home in 1919. Seven years later he watched as many of his Cemetery Community neighbors were forced to sell their land to the War Department to create Stones River National Military Park. Starting in 1945 Will served the nation for at least a decade as a civilian employee at Stewart Air Force Base near Nashville, Tennessee. In his spare time Will enjoyed creating woodcarvings. He commonly used the themes of family, farming, and civil rights as inspiration. Some of the pieces replicate fine art pieces which Harlan could have seen during his time in France.

While Will worked and carved, the world was changing. The struggle for Civil Rights became a nationwide movement that saw many of the rights and freedoms that Will's grandfather had earned were restored. Will passed away on November 18, 1979. His funeral service was held at the Ebenezer Primitive Baptist Church which had been established during the Cemetery's Community's creation. He is buried near his grandfather in the family cemetery that lies east of the Hazen Brigade Monument.