Monument to USCT dedicated in Tenn. city that was a recruitment center

A monument to U.S. Colored Troops was unveiled at Fort Defiance Civil War Park and Interpretive Center in Clarksville, Tenn. Hundreds gathered for a weekend Juneteenth ceremony filled with speeches, music, poems and dance in honor of the troops. Clarksville served as a recruitment center for escaped slaves who joined the Union army. -- Article

New Virginia historic site honors the brave service of Black soldiers who fought for the Union, including three who were executed nearby

The monument is the focal point of the site (photos Hugh Kenny, PEC)

A monument dedicated over the weekend in a rural Northern Virginia community honors three unknown soldiers of the U.S. Colored Troops who were executed in May 1864 after their capture.

The new Maddensville Historic Site in Culpeper County’s Lignum community features the granite obelisk and three Civil War Trails markers describing the significance of Madden’s Tavern, operated by a free black man, Willis Madden; a Baptist church started by Madden; and the service of 17 USCT members from Culpeper who fought for the 4th Division, 9th Corps Army of the Potomac, which marched through the area.

Keynote speaker John Hennessy, retired chief historian of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, spoke of the immense courage of those in the USCT. They faced discrimination within the U.S. Army and were not recognized as soldiers by the Confederacy, which threatened to execute or return them to slavery.

“It is impossible to overstate how profound the sight must have been as men of the United States Colored Troops marched into Culpeper County on May 5, 1864,” Hennessy said. “It was certainly profound to those men in uniform: some of them had been enslaved here; probably two-thirds of them had been enslaved somewhere. Now they fought for freedom, sensing that the freedom of others -- of all -- would transform the nation.”

While many USCT troops saw combat across the South, those in this campaign likely were guarding supply wagons or performing other duties during the Battle of the Wilderness.

The three soldiers were killed a few hundred yards from the historic site on May 8, 1864. A diary entry by a Confederate trooper is devoid of any emotion.

“We captured three Negro soldiers, the first we had seen," wrote Pvt. Byrd C. Willis of Company B, 9^th Virginia Cavalry. "They were taken out on the road side and shot and their bodies left there."

Willis at the time was a 17-year-old Florida native who had attended Virginia Military Institute and enlisted just a month before. He was wounded at Spotsylvania Court House in June 1864. Willis survived the war.

The new historic site was the work of the Freedom Foundation of Virginia, supported by the Piedmont Environmental Council and Civil War Trails.

In a press release, the groups said about 200 people attended Saturday’s event, some of them descendants of USCT soldiers.

Howard Lambert, head of the Freedom Foundation, has described Culpeper County as a ground zero for the story of the USCT, with some returning to the county -- their place of enslavement -- to fight for the Federal cause.

“They could have stayed free and enjoyed all the privileges thereof, but these men decided to join the Union army and come back as proud soldiers in blue to fight to free people who were still in bondage, knowing that if they were captured, they would be given no quarter, but would be lined up and shot, which is obviously what happened here near Madden’s Tavern,” Lambert said, according to the press release.

Reenactors on Nov. 6 near Ebenezer Baptist Church (Hugh Kenny, PEC)

The Picket reached out to Lambert for comment. He told the Washington Post that reading the line from Willis' diary was chilling. "It was like a common occurrence. No ceremony, just, 'Oh, we lined 'em up and shot 'em,' " he told the Post.

More than 180,000 men served in the USCT, about 10% of all Federal soldiers. More than 40,000 died, according to Hennessy.

He wrote that some members of the USCT, in their first campaign, were stragglers and fell into Rebel hands in May 1864.

“These types of dangers were ever-present for the USCT,” Hennessey said. “That fact magnifies their achievement.  In the coming months, the USCT would see battle. They would suffer indignities at the hands of their brother soldiers and atrocities at the hands of their enemies.”

One of three Civil War Trails markers at the site (Hugh Kenny, PEC)

But, he said, they increasingly gained respect within the Union army.

“The ultimate success of the USCT was no antidote to deeply rooted racism, but it certainly marked a major step forward. The service of the USCT was essential to establishing African Americans as countrymen in the eyes of many who had long refused to see them as fellow Americans.”

Protection of portion of Civil War battlefield in Alabama will allow further study of African-American troops who helped secure victory

Colorized Harper's Weekly illustration of assault on Fort Blakeley

Capt. Louis Snaer (left) was a rarity: A member of the 73rd U.S. Colored Troops, he was among a small number of black soldiers to win an officer’s commission during the Civil War.

On the same day Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox -- April 9, 1865 -- the 73^rd and eight other USCT regiments played a major part in the overrunning and surrender of Fort Blakeley, a Rebel bastion east of Mobile, Ala.

Snaer fell with a severe wound to the foot during the fierce attack, which was over in a half hour.

“He refused to sheathe his sword or to be carried off the field,” wrote Colonel Henry C. Merriam, the 73^rd’s commander. “No braver officer has honored any flag.”

The combined Federal infantry and naval victory was the last such operation of the war. The courage of 5,000 African-American troops who fought at Fort Blakeley has since been the subject of articles and research.

A portion of the battlefield is in the parcel (The Conservation Fund)

Interest in their service recently received fresh impetus.

Last month, The Conservation Fund, American Battlefield Trust and the University of South Alabama (USA) announced the long-term protection of 60 acres in the battlefield. The conservation easement was funded by a National Park Service grant of $293,000.

About 40 percent of the 2,000-acre battlefield already was owned by the state, much of it within Historic Blakeley State Park, which is north of Spanish Fort.

“However, what is arguably the most significant quarter of the battle site, where U.S. Colored Troops overran Confederate defenses in a raging assault, was unprotected until now,” the groups said in a statement. “The 60-acre property known as Blakeley Bluff is expected to contain valuable archaeological data related to this African American experience. The protection of this land will allow USA greater opportunities for archaeological digs, historical research and preservation of the battle site’s rich history.”

Mike Bunn, director of operations at the state park, which abuts the 60-acre parcel (shaded orange area in map at left), told the Picket that the newly protected land contains artillery positions, a portion of Confederate Redoubt 3 and part of the line between Redoubt 3 and Redoubt 2.

USCT troops were posted in an area fronting Redoubts 1 and 2 -- the northernmost Confederate fortifications along the line at Fort Blakeley -- during the weeklong siege. The 73^rd planted a flag after it took Redoubt 2, one of nine such fortifications put up by Rebel troops. USCT units focused on Redoubts 1, 2 and 3 in the attack. Some of that land is now private property.

Bunn, writing last year for the Blue and Gray Education Society, said about 30 black soldiers were killed and nearly 150 wounded in the assault, a significant portion of nearly 400 casualties during the entirety of operations, which resulted in the largest Civil War battle in Alabama. White officers extolled the bravery of the regiments, comprised mostly of formerly enslaved men.

“Greater gallantry than was shown by officers and men could hardly be desired,” wrote Brig. Gen. Christopher Columbus Andrews. “The (troops) were burning with an impulse to do honor to their race, and rushed forward with intense enthusiasm, in face of a terrible fire.”

There's natural beauty in an historic area

While the state park has been the subject of archaeological digs over the years, little has been done on the 60 acres, which are owned by The Conservation Fund and will be managed by USA.

Blakely bluff as seen from the Tensaw River (The Conservation Fund)

The area is not just known for its Civil War history.

The land is part of a fragile ecosystem, featuring diverse plant life, tall bluffs, hardwood ravines and black water swamps, according to The Conservation Fund. Fort Blakeley was built along the Tensaw River, which flows south into the Apalachee River and Mobile Bay.

“The archaeological excavations and research that USA plans to do on this property has the potential to enhance what we know about the USCT that fought there,” Val Keefer of The Conservation Fund told the Picket.

Philip J. Carr, a professor of anthropology at the university, said the conservation easement “will allow for a systematic exploration of the property to better understand the cultural resources that are there, both prehistoric and historic. USA students will be involved in systematic archaeological survey of the property at some point in the future.”

Click this Mobile campaign map to enlarge (Library of Congress)

They wanted to prove themselves men

Although Union Adm. David Farragut has bottled up Mobile in the summer of 1864, it remained in Confederate hands. 

The arrival of additional Federal troops in early 1865 brought about the campaign to take Fort Blakeley, Spanish Fort and other guardians east of Mobile, a vital transportation and supply center.

“There are good elevations around here,” Bunn told the Picket in 2017. “If you want to take Mobile the easiest route would be via the eastern shore … and come from the north.”

Confederate commanders used soldiers and slaves to build the earthen fortifications. Fort Blakeley was built following designs typical for a defense against a ground attack. It was commanded by Brig. Gen. St. John R. Liddell (left).

Union troops, a third of which were USCT regiments, laid siege of Blakeley for about a week.

Remains of Rebel fortifications at Fort Blakeley (Historic Blakeley SP)

About 180,000 men, most of them former slaves but others free men of color, served in the US Colored Troops in the last few years of the conflict. While they were often relegated to guard duty, supply work or manual labor, they fought at Port Hudson, La., Petersburg, Va., and Fort Blakeley, among a few other battles.

In his Blue & Gray article, Bunn writes: “The USCT units at Blakeley marched there from Pensacola as a division of troops led by Gen. Frederick Steele. They were to join other forces under Gen. Edward S. Canby for a move against Mobile. Brig. Gen. John P. Hawkins held overall command of the division, which he organized into three brigades led by Gen. William A. Pile, Col. Hiram Scofield, and Col. Charles W. Drew. USCT units including the 47th, 48th, 50th, 51st, 68th, 73rd, 76th 82nd, and 86th Infantries comprised these brigades. The majority of these men had enlisted in Louisiana, with one unit having formed in Missouri.”

The USCT regiments held the right flank of the Union line.

The two sides exchanged artillery and gunfire during the siege. The afternoon of April 9 was chosen for a massive assault on the Rebel defenses. Nearly 16,000 blue-clad warriors were up against 3,500 Confederates, half of whom were veteran troops.

Library of Congress map showing opposing lines in April 1865. USCT units were at far
right (north end). They focused on Redoubts 1, 2, 3 (click to enlarge)

Land mines a peril for attackers

A portion of the Black regiments were engaged in reconnaissance of a Rebel position but were pinned down in a firefight until the general assault. “They were one of the first units heavily engaged that afternoon,” Bunn said.

The Iron Brigader website also offers details of the battle and reports by Federal officers. Col. Scofield provided vivid detail about the 47, 50^th and 51^st regiments: “The command moved with a yell through the abatis and over torpedoes (mines), several of which exploded, driving the rebels from their works and guns, and in conjunction with the regiments of the other brigades which entered the works almost simultaneously, captured a large number of prisoners.”

By then Rebel gun emplacements had been overrun, the Iron Brigader says.

Col. Hiram Scofield

“Quite a number of men were killed or wounded by the explosion of torpedoes, which were exploded by stepping upon them,” Scofield wrote. "One man, Private Josias Lewis, Company K, Forty-seventh U.S. Colored Infantry, was, while under my own observation, severely wounded, losing a leg by the explosion of one of these infernal machines while guarding prisoners to the rear after they had surrendered.”

Bunn writes for the Blue and the Gray that the attack was “a short but bitter affair, featuring a grand, open-field charge through a storm of artillery and small arms fire and isolated pockets of fighting all across the 3-mile line. By 6:15 p.m. the last shots of the battle had been fired, and Fort Blakeley lay in the possession of the victorious Union Army. During the battle, USCT units captured over 200 men and several pieces of artillery and sustained some of the heaviest casualties of any unit engaged.”

Early in the battle, USCT troops heard racial epithets uttered by Confederate troops, but they were not swayed from their intention of proving themselves. Once they reached the Rebel lines, close-quarters combat briefly raged before the surrender.

“Allegations that some Confederates were shot even after they surrendered to USCT troops surfaced almost immediately after the battle and the truth of what happened in its chaotic last moments continue to be the subject of research and speculation today,” Bunn wrote in the Encyclopedia of Alabama. “Available evidence indicates some Union soldiers indeed may have fired on Confederates who had surrendered, but there was no large-scale massacre.”

Redoubt #4 (Courtesy of Historic Blakeley State Park)

New opportunity to interpret battle

With the fall of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, Mobile could no longer be defended; Federal troops occupied the city on April 12. The war was essentially over by that point.

Capt. Snaer, considered a free person of color in New Orleans upon his joining the Louisiana Native Guards in 1862, spent six days in a field hospital after his wounding at Fort Blakeley. He mustered out in November 1865. After the war, he moved to California and died there in 1917, at age 75.

The bravery of Snaer and his comrades at Blakeley came before American-Americans attained full citizenship and civil rights. Now their legacy can be further explored on the protected site.

“Because of the landscape’s history, farming on the old battlefields was limited and the distinctive soils held impressions for centuries,” The Conservation Fund says of the battlefield. “Trenches, gun emplacements, batteries and other marks of battle are still prominent and intact, providing opportunities for archaeological digging, data collecting and vivid interpretation of the often-untold history of these troops.”

View of the Blakeley bluff land (The Conservation Fund)

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.

'No power on earth can deny': African-American soldiers are subject of MLK Day programming at the Atlanta History Center

Medal of Honor recipient William Carney

Sgt. Maj. Milton Holland took command of his company of the 5^th U.S. Colored Troops when all its white officers were killed or wounded. In the 54^th Massachusetts’ assault made famous in the movie “Glory,” Sgt. William Carney planted a flag atop the enemy’s fort and safeguarded its return to Federal lines.

Nicholas Biddle was left scarred after a mob in Baltimore attacked Pennsylvania troops. And Hubbard D. Pryor escaped slavery to trade his ragged clothing for a uniform with the 44^th USCT.

These courageous African-Americans and other who served with or aided the Federal army during the Civil War will provide inspiration for those attending special MLK Day programming at the Atlanta History Center on Jan 20.

Among the highlights coming with free admission that day at the AHC and the Margaret Mitchell House are the touring exhibition “Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow” and a play in which an activist in 1963 imagines a conversation with four iconic freedom fighters.

The student-oriented soldiers experience will take place hourly between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the history center’s renowned Civil War permanent exhibit, “Turning Point.”

“Take on the role of a real soldier who fought in the Civil War for the United States Colored Troops after volunteering for duty in 1863,” says the program description. “Presented with various real-life scenarios, you must make vital decisions that could affect your life and well-being.”

Biographical sheet at the Atlanta History Center

Museum interpreters will lead the immersive experience, said Joanna Arrietta, director of author and family programs at the AHC, which is in the city’s Buckhead neighborhood. She said the talks also will include the 8^th, 55^th and other USCT regiments.

Arrietta says: “We prioritize children participating first and allow adults to participate and follow along within our space constraints. Educators lead the group; each participant is given a profile sheet of a USCT soldier, and travels through the exhibit in role, through the lens of the USCT experience of the Civil War. Scenarios such as everyday soldier life (pay, medical access) and combat (the Battle of the Crater) are explored in this interactive walking tour.”

Milton Holland

Students at first are given a few fictionalized facts about a particular soldier but then learn their actual story as they go through the program. The handout includes a factual biographical sketch and resources for participants to learn more on their own.

Formal formation of black units followed the adoption of the Emancipation Proclamation.

About 175,000 soldiers served with the USCT, and they are credited with helping to turn the tide at several battles and campaigns in the last two years of the wear. Regiments had free men and former slaves. About 19,000 African-Americans served in the U.S. Navy.

Carney was the first African-American to receive the Medal of Honor, which also was awarded to Holland, who won distinction at Chaffin’s Farm in Virginia. You can learn more about Holland here, Carney here, Biddle here and Hubbard here.

USCT units were led by white officers and it took time for soldiers to receive pay equal to their white counterparts. They still had limited career opportunities and faced some racism within the Union army. Some freed men captured by Confederate units were sold into slavery.

(Atlanta History Center)

But they served with distinction, with soldiers earning 25 Medals of Honor and black regiments making up about 10 percent of the Federal army by the war's end. Among engagements in which they proved their courage was the July 1864 Battle of the Crater at Petersburg.

Frederick Douglass wrote of them: “Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship.”

She wants to tell the stories of USCT troops

For 50 years, Corene McDaniel has walked through the rows at Mound City National Cemetery in southern Illinois to visit her father. But it was only a few years ago that she noticed an abbreviation chiseled into some of the oldest white headstones: USCT. It stands for United States Colored Troops -- the name given to about 200,000 black men who fought for the Union in the Civil War. McDaniel has identified 350 USCT graves. McDaniel, of Carbondale, hopes her records can be added to the directory at the cemetery museum, allowing future visitors to more easily find the graves. She also wants to tell their stories. • Article