Some More on the XXV Corps (A Fort Fisher and Wilmington Connection)

This unit was black war correspondent Thomas Morris Chester's beat during the war.

I should mention that it also had a Fort Fisher connection.  It was composed of three divisions.  One was under the command of August Kautz, William Birney and Charles J. Paine.

In January 1865, Paine's Division sailed  with Terry's Expedition to attack Fort Fisher in North Carolina, where it rendered effective service although it did not take part in the initial assault.  The division did not rejoin the XXV Corps after that, but remained in North Carolina and participated in the Wilmington Campaign during February.

The post I had about the USCT statue at the Cameron Art Center in Wilmington, N.C., in my Running the Blockade: Civil War Navy blog last month is dedicated to these men.  They showed their mettle at this final battle before the fall of Wilmington at the Battle of Forks Road.

--Old Secesh

Thomas Morris Chester-- Part 4: After the War

After the war, Chester moved to England where he earned a law degree.  When he returned to the United States, he became an activist in Reconstruction Louisiana politics, where he became the first black in the state to practice law.

While he would accomplish much over his life before is death of a heart attack in 1892 at the age of 58, his legacy endures as the only black Civil War correspondent for a major newspaper who provided a perspective that was reflective of both  the black troop experience and the crucial final year of the war.

Chester effectively captured the frustration  of black veterans who believed their contributions to Union victory went largely  unnoticed," wrote Gary  Gallagher, a history professor at the University of Virginia who has written several books on the war.

Some years after the war, Morris wrote about the Battle of New Market Heights outside of Richmond, where a brigade of lack troops fought bravely against Confederate forces:  "It is a source of complain, and very justly too, that the colored troops and their officers have not received their meed of praise from the chroniclers  of events in the army, for their splendid advance and gallant bearing."

(Meed means a deserved share or reward.  I hadn't heard the word before.)

Ultimately,  14 black soldiers were awarded Medals of Honor for their valor in the battle.

--Old Secesh

America's First Black War Correspondent, Thomas Morris Chester-- Part 2

Chester wrote about black troops in the Philadelphia Press saying:  "Every many looks like a soldier, while inflexible determination depicted upon every countenance."

Formed in April 1864, the Army of the James contained two divisions of white soldiers of the XXIV Corps and one division of black troops of the XXV Corps.  The Blacks consisted of two brigades of  seven regiments with 5,000 men.

Chester was embedded with the XXV Corps on the front lines and didn't shy away from describing the carnage they faced.  Once, he wrote about two men who had been on picket duty and had been hit be a shell:  "...quivering pieces of flesh indicated the locality of the frightful scene, while fragments of hearts and intestines were hanging upon the branches of the neighboring trees."

He also was well aware of how bad it would be for a black soldier to be captured by Confederates.  "Between the Negroes  and the enemy, it is  a war to the death," he wrote  on August 22, 1864.  The colored troops  have cheerfully accepted the conditions of the Confederate government, that between them, no quarter is to be shown.  Those here have not the least idea of living  after they fall into the hands of the enemy."

Indeed, black prisoners of war were not even treated as prisoners of war.   Many received harsh treatment from the rebels -- some tortured, some killed and others sold or returned to slavery.  And, of course there was also the massacre at Fort Pillow.

--Old Secesh

America's First Black War Correspondent, Thomas Morris Chester-- Part 1

From the Feb. 15, 2022, History  "America's first black war correspondent reported from the Civil War front lines" by Farrell Evans.

During the Civil War, hundreds of  reporters from the Union and Confederacy published stories about the war.  Only one of them was a black man, named  Thomas Morris Chester, the nation's first black war correspondent.

The invention of the telegraph in  1844  by Samuel Morse had made it possible for newspapers to report the news  in a matter of hours, not days.  The  correspondents reporting the war were all white men except for Chester and they reported the war through the eyes of the white troops.

But, the white-owned Philadelphia Press hired Chester  in 1864, to cover black troops in Virginia.  

The 30-year-old from Harrisburg native wrote under the pseudonym "Rollin."    His mother had escaped slavery.

His beat was with the United States Colored Troops in the Army of the James from August 1864 to June 1865.  Chester had actively recruited Blacks into the ranks and gave  voice and dignity to them as they  struggled for their right to fight, for parity with white troops and for he respect that should come to men willing to lay their lives down for their country.

--Old Secesh

Civil War Auction Honors Lincoln's Birthday-- Part 1

From the February 1, 2022, Chicago Tribune "Civil War display honors Black History Month, Lincoln's birthday" by Tatyana Turner.

Chicagoans have a chance to see the original 13th Amendment (abolishing slavery) and other Civil War-era artifacts at Heritage Auctions Chicago, 222 W. Hubbard Street.

In honor of this being Black History Month and Abraham Lincoln's birthday, Heritage Auctions, a multinational auction house, will have some of the rarest artifacts of that era on display before they head to Heritage's Dallas headquarters for bidding at auction.

The Chicago preview will include vaulted lots of 350 vaulted lots from the Lincoln era.

Those who want to take a chance at owning a copy of the original 13th Amendment or other collectibles such as letters written by Abraham Lincoln and an engraved pocket knife he once owned will have the opportunity to do so.

--Old Secesh

Confederate Slave Payrolls Provide a Wealth of Information

From the September 25, 2021, Terre Haute (Indiana) Tribune Star  ""Genealogy:  Confederate Slave Payrolls provide a wealth of information" by Tamie Dehler.

The National Archives and Records Administration has a valuable online resource called Confederate Slave Payrolls, which can be of great value for persons doing research on their black past.  Not to mention the Civil War.

"During the Civil War, the Confederate Army required enslavers to loan their enslaved people to the military.  Throughout the Confederacy from Florida to Virginia, these enslaved people worked as cooks and laundresses, labored in deadly conditions to mine potassium nitrate to create  gunpowder, worked in ordnance factories, and dug the defensive  trench works that defended  cities such as Petersburg, Virginia.

"This series , comprising nearly 6,000 payrolls for enslaved labor,  sheds light  on the lives of enslaved people loaned to the Confederate Army during the Civil War, and may provide a wealth of genealogical  information relating to the names and home counties of African Americans.

"The payrolls show the time period covered, the Confederate officer under whom the enslaved people were employed, the place of service, names of the enslaver,  names and occupations of the hired enslaved person, number of days employed, daily rate of wages, amount paid, and the signature of the person receiving the payment."

You can view the full series of the "Confederate Slave Payrolls" in the  National Archives Catalog:  National Archives Identifier 719477.

So, It Is Now Enslaved People Instead of Slaves.  Enslavers Instead of Slaveowners.  --Old Secesh

Black Service in the Civil War-- Part 3: White Officers and Battles

However, all officers were whites.  Blacks could become non commissioned officers like corporals and sergeants.  Many white officers took command of the regiments as a way to rise in the ranks.

USCT did a lot of guard duty, but also took part in engagements.  I have been writing about the nine USCT regiments involved with the engagement at the Confederate Sugar Loaf Line south of Wilmington, N.C.,  in my Running the Blockade blog the last two weeks.

USCT regiments served valiantly at the Battle of the Crater (Virginia), Battle of Chaffin;'s Farm (Virginia)  and Battle of Nashville (Tennessee).  The 54th Massachusetts gained glory at the Battle of Fort Wagner (South Carolina).

Other USCT regiments were present when Lee's Army surrendered at Appomattox.

Seven black sailors received the Medal of Honor during the war.  I wrote about one of them, Robert Blake in my January entries in my Running the Blockade:  Civil War Navy blog.

--Old Secesh

Black Service in the Civil War-- Part 2: 175 Regiments USCT, 20% of Union Navy

Existing volunteer black units  were converted into the United States Colored troops (USCT).  By the end of the conflict, there were 175 regiments of USCT, containing 178,000 enlisted soldiers making up approximately 10% of the Union Army.

Sixteen USCT soldiers earned the nation's highest honor, the Medal of Honor.

In addition, more than 18,000 black men and 3 women served in the U.S. Navy.  That number comprised  20% of all sailors in the war.

Black regiments were formed  in every Union state.  While mostly made up of black soldiers, other minorities  served including Indians and Asians.

--Old Secesh

Black Service in the Civil War-- Part 1: The Confiscation Act, Militia Act, Emancipation Proclamation and Bureau of Colored Troops

 From the Feb. 23, 2021, U.S. Army "African American service  and racial integration   in the U.S. military" by Dr. Paul-Thomas Ferguson.

I have written about earlier service during Colonial, American Revolution, War of 1812 and Indian Wars  in my Cooter's History Thing blog this past week.

During the Civil War, the Union established and maintained regiments of black soldiers.  This became possible in 1862 the Confiscation Act, which freed slaves of rebellious slaveholders, and the  Militia Act, which authorized the president to use former slaves as soldiers.

President Lincoln was initially reluctant to recruit black soldiers.  This changed in January 1863 with the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring freedom for all slaves in Confederate states.

The first black regiments to served during the war were made up of free men.    In May 1863,  the War Department established the Bureau of Colored Troops for  the purpose of recruiting black men.

--Old Secesh

Henry Mack and the 57th USCT-- Part 3: Ran Away from Alabama Plantation

Steve Chicoine began doing extensive research on Henry Mack and the 57th USCT after seeing Mack's gravestone at the Fort Snelling National Cemetery.  He scoured old newspapers and interviewed north Minneapolis  residents who recalled him as the "Old Soldier."

According to Chicoine, Henry Mack was known only as Henry picking cotton at an Alabama plantation.  When the overseer threatened to whip his mother, Phoebe, for falling behind, Henry stepped in and took the beating himself.   That prompted their escape, a harrowing 300-mile trek across Mississippi to a Union camp in Helena, Arkansas.

No one gave Mack his freedom.  He seized it himself, despite dire consequences had he been captured.

He took the last name Mack and enlisted in the Union Army in early 1864.  When he boarded a ship on the Arkansas River, he waved goodbye to his mother, whom he'd never see again.

He and his regiment, the 57th USCT saw action in Arkansas and clashed with bushwhackers.  Gen. C.C. Andrews, a former Minnesota legislator, said later that they served with "a cheery appearance and willing spirit" and "proved good soldiers."

--Old Secesh

Troops Came to U.S. Capitol in 1861 and Wrecked It-- Part 2: Different From 160 Years Ago

The most recent chapter in the history of the U.S. Capitol took place 160 years later.

On Wednesday, Jan. 13, photos showed  the halls of the building filled with thousands of rifle-toting National Guard troops tasked with securing the nation's capital city.  They rested on floors that just a week earlier rioters had overrun.  And some even carried Confederate flags.

But, this time they will not be staying in the Capitol, but put up in local hotels.

Troops also stayed overnight in the Capitol building during World War II and after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr in 1968 during black riots.  According to U.S. senate history, they had also been called on to maintain order on at least three other times.

The scene this past Wednesday was also remarkably different than 160 years ago.  A bust of Lincoln and a plaque commemorating the earlier quartered regiments were located above napping guard members.  A group of black guardsmen took photos with a statue of Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks.

Most wore face masks, and many observed social distancing amid the virus epidemic.

--Old Secesh

Preservation at Alabama's Fort Blakely-- Part 2: Sixty Acre Site

This newly acquired land is arguably the most important part of the whole battlefield as this is where the U.S. Colored Troops overran the Confederates.  The 60-acre site, known as Blakely Bluff is expected to contain valuable archaeological evidence related to the black experience.  The protection of this land will allow the University of South Alabama greater opportunities for field work at the site.

Writer Bill Finch who promotes Gulf Coast  conservation says:  "The involvement of black troops in critical U.S. battles like Fort Blakely  is largely untold.  Between the Revolution and the Civil War, more than 200,000 black troops fought for the U.S. prior to  being granted full citizenship.

"Today's accomplishment protects  one of the last critical pieces of  the war's most poignant battles,  prefiguring the nation's long battle for civil rights that followed.  The result is  one of the region's largest, best-preserved  and most significant Civil War parks."

This newly acquired land will reportedly restrict future development of the property as well.

Black troops also contributed to the Union victory at the Battle of Forks Road outside Wilmington, North Carolina in February 1865.

--Old Secesh

Col. Lewis Merrill-- Part 5: The Situation Worsens in York County, S.C.

That truce was broken the next day, February 12, 1871 when 500 to 700 Whites in neighboring Union County killed eight Blacks.  On March 6, 1871, J. Rufus Bratton and a group of seventy white men  attacked a number of black houses and hung Jim Williams.

Companies B, E and K of George Armstrong Custer's 7th Cavalry led by Lewis Merrill were dispatched to the area to quell the violence.

In the meantime, Elias Hill stepped up to lead the Union League which with the deaths was now in disarray.  In another raid by Whites, Hill's nephews, Solomon Hill and June Moore were attacked and forced to renounce their Republican allegiance in the local newspaper, the Yorkville Enquirer.

Elias Hill was also attacked on May 5, 1871.  By then, Merrill was in York County and this was the first activity that Merrill saw of the Ku Klux Klan.  But he found himself unable to step in to protect the black citizens of the county.

--Old Secesh

The Black Experience, Ann Stokes-- Part 2: A Very Dedicated Woman

She was on active duty on the hospital ship USS Red Rover until October 1864 when she resigned, citing total exhaustion.

She married Gilbert Stokes after leaving the Red Rover.  he was also working on the Red Rover.  They moved to Illinois where he died in 1866.  She remarried to George Bowman in 1867.

In the 1880s, she tried unsuccessfully to get a pension based on her marriage to Gilbert Stokes.  her big problem in this was that she was unable to read or write.

She reapplied in 1890 stating that she had piles (hemorroids) and heart disease after she had learned to read and write.  She asserted that she had served 18 months on the Red Rover and this time she was approved and received $12 a month.

She lived in Belknap, Illinois.  I was unable to find out where she is buried, but it was likely in or around Belknap.  Now, here is a woman whose grave needs to be located and a marker erected as she was an original.

Here's Hoping.  --Old Secesh

The Black Experience: Ann Stokes, Union Nurse-- Part 1

From the July 27, 2017, Southern Illinoisan by Marlene Rivero.

Ann Stokes was a slave and a volunteer nurse on the first U.S. Navy hospital ship, the Red Rover, stationed at Mound City, Illinois.

She was paid regular wages and rated as a first class boy.  She also became the first black woman to receive a military pension of her own accord.

She came aboard a Union ship in 1863 as a contraband who could not read or write.  She worked under the direction of the Holy Cross nuns.

She was born in Rutherford County, Tennessee i  1930 and enlisted in the U.S. navy along with several young black women.

--Old Secesh

Siege of Port Hudson-- Part 2: Slaughter's Field

The first Union assault hit the Confederate  left flank, guarding the northern approach to Port Hudson.  Timely reinforcements from the Confederate center allowed them to repulse several Union attacks.  The fighting here had ended before the next two Union divisions attacked the Confederate center.

Here, the Confederates easily handled the Union advance going across Slaughter's Field, killing around 2,000 Union troops.  I imagine this is where Corporal Francis Warren received his wound and eventually received the Medal of Honor for his actions.  I also wonder if the field was named that before the attack or after it.

Union casualties here included 600 Blacks of the First and Third Louisiana Native Guards who were led by Captain Andre Cailloux, a black officer.

Thus ended the first big attack on Fort Hudson.  --Old Secesh

Black Group Disrupts Confederate Service in Chicago-- Part 2

Oak Woods Cemetery is at 67th and Cottage Grove streets in Chicago.  It was established in 1853.

Famous Blacks former Mayor Harold Washington and Olympian Jesse Owens are both buried there.  Other famous black people buried there are Thomas A. Dorsey (Father of Gospel Music) and Eunice and John H. Johnson, entrepreneurs.

The Confederate Mound, as the site in the cemetery is called, is the final resting place of some 4,000 victims of the Union prison called Camp Douglas who were buried there.  The prison camp was located in Bronzeville on the grounds of Stephen Douglas' land.

It features a 30 foot tall granite column with a Confederate soldier on top.  bronze plaques around the base list the names of 4,000 Confederates who died there.

It sits on federally-owned land run by the Veterans Administration.

It is Sad When a Group Does Not Pay Respect to American Veterans.  --Old Secesh

MCCWRT Discussion Group Meeting Nov. 25: The Black Experience in the War

The McHenry County Civil War Round Table Discussion Group will meet Saturday, November 25, 2017, at the Panera Bread Company at 8000 Northwest Highway (US-14) in Crystal Lake, Illinois, from 10 a.m. to noon.

The topic will be the Black Experience in the Civil War.

I will talk about Ann Stokes, U.S. Navy nurse and first black woman to receive a Civil War pension.  I will also talk about the movie "Glory."

Looking Forward to It.  --Old Secesh