For Juneteenth, the story of African American Civil War troops and an amazing flag are featured on Atlanta museum's interactive page

127th USCT flag and interactive page (Courtesy of Morphy Auctions/Atlanta History Center)

A prize artifact acquired last year by the Atlanta History Center captures the essence of why 180,000 African Americans volunteered in the Union army during the Civil War.

“We Will Prove Ourselves Men” reads the motto on the striking flag that belonged to the 127^th Regiment U.S. Colored Troops, which was formed in Pennsylvania of free men and some who had escaped bondage. That they were determined to prove themselves no doubt showed equality for all Americans -- while etched in the Declaration of Independence -- was far from a reality for millions.

An account of the flag's history and the regiment are featured in an interactive presentation the history center is promoting as part of its annual commemoration of Juneteenth. The June 19 holiday marks the day an Army general rode into Galveston, Texas, and told blacks of their emancipation – that slavery had ended in the United States.

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Juneteenth is being remembered at the AHC this year through a virtual experience.

Calfskin knapsack of Pvt. Ezra Brooks,
8th USCT (Atlanta History Center)

The interactive map spotlights five engagements that involved African American units: Olustee (Florida), Fort Pillow (Tennessee), Fort Wagner (South Carolina), the Crater (Virginia) and the fall of Richmond and Appomattox (Virginia).

Viewers can toggle to a page for each. They include photographs, text, audio, newspaper accounts, links to related content and photographs of USCT artifacts in the museum’s collection.

USCT units -- which helped turn the tide in several campaigns and battles -- were led by white officers and it took time for soldiers to receive pay equal to their white counterparts.

They had limited opportunities and faced racism within the Union army. Some freed men captured by Confederate units were sold into slavery and in some instances, such as at Fort Pillow, black troops were victims of racially motivated atrocities, although some dispute such accounts.

Gordon Jones, senior military curator and historian, speaks in several audio clips, including one on how well the 8^th USCT performed at Olustee, which ended in a Confederate victory in February 1864.

In another, Jones talks about the challenge of finding USCT artifacts. Several rare items are in the AHC collection.

African American soldiers constituted only about 10 percent of the Federal army in 1865 and unless a soldier wrote his name on an item or it was handed down, it’s difficult to know who wore it. “That’s why we say provenance is everything,” says Jones.

David B. Bowser

The 127^th USCT flag speaks to such rarity. Of the 11 such flags David B. Bowser painted for black units, the 127^th banner is the only known to survive. It depicts a soldier waving farewell to Columbia, a symbol of the United States, with the words “We Will Prove Ourselves Men.”

“And that’s what the soldiers of the US Colored Troops were fighting -- not to just gain freedom, not just to prove themselves worthy of US citizenship. But for the rights of basic human dignity,” Jones says of the motto. 

The 127^th was organized in late summer 1864 and took part in siege operations against Richmond and Petersburg until the end of the Civil War. Part of the Army of the James, it participated in one battle and several other actions. The regiment was at Appomattox for the surrender of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.

Medal of Honor for Capt. Albert Wright,
43rd USCT, valor at the Crater. (Courtesy AHC)

In a separate page on the AHC website, Jones speaks more about the importance of the unit’s silk flag, and how little students knew about the service of African Americans in the military until the 1960s. The AHC spent nearly $200,000 to purchase the flag from an auction house.

Howard Pousner, manager of media relations for the AHC, told the Picket the flag was displayed for several weeks in the atrium when it was purchased and is currently included in the exhibit "Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow," which has been extended through February 2021.

The restored banner likely cannot be exhibited year round due to its fragile nature and concerns over light exposure, officials have said.

Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia mark June 19 as a state holiday or observance, according to CNN. Communities celebrate it with food and festivities. Despite a push by activists over the years, Juneteenth still isn't a federal holiday.