Black History Month: Archiving the Civil War service of Black soldiers and sailors

2023-02-24T09:36:20-05:00

Civil War buffs can take a hands-on role in preserving the legacy of the “United States Colored Troops” by serving as “citizen archivists,” making sure these soldiers’ military records, and other historical documents, are safeguarded and shared with the public.

“Since the time of the American Revolution, African Americans have volunteered to serve their country in time of war,” wrote National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) volunteer Budge Weidman in an article about the project. “The Civil War was no exception — official sanction was the difficulty.”

The project inviting citizens to help tag, transcribe and comment on the service records of those who served in the USCT grew out of a larger archival effort to microfilm the Civil War records of Union volunteer soldiers, Weidman said. (She noted that NARA records of those who served the Confederacy during the Civil War — which began April 12, 1861, and ended April 9, 1865 — are already on microfilm.)

Archivists estimate that 185,000 people served in the USCT, a figure that includes Black troops and officers who were not Black, according to Weidman.

From slavery to military service

Black History Month is an occasion to share the remarkable story of African American military service uncovered by this volunteer Civil War Conservation Corps and official NARA archivists. Thanks to them, these records are forever more accessible to any student of history, whenever they’re ready to unearth the unsung tales of Black service members’ bravery and sacrifice.

When they do, they’ll discover people like Charles Sprout, an African American born in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, who toiled in servitude on the slave-run farm of J. Horace Lacey.

A simple notation in Sprout’s file, “Free Apl 18/61,” indicates that he fled bondage at age 19 in 1861 — at the start of the war but two years before the 1863 issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation.

At age 21, after just two years as a free man, Sprout on Dec. 12 arrived at Fort Monroe, Virginia, to volunteer for a three-year tour in the Union Army. He became a private in the 1st United States Colored Calvary and served until 1866, his records show.

After the war, Sprout moved to a place called Wilderness Tavern, Virginia, not far from the Fredericksburg plantation he fled in his late teen years, according to a NARA video about his story.

Sprout worked at the tavern and, in 1897, married Fannie Ward. The couple’s only child appeared to have been an adopted son, according to a listing on Find A Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15938941/charles-sprout).

In the post-war years, Sprout received a small monthly pension of $6 as compensation for his service-related injuries and ailments, which included heart and back problems.

Sprout repeatedly submitted medical evidence to increase that sum, the records show (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/76061018). By 1908, as Sprout entered his 60s, his pension had doubled to $12 a month. By his seventies, he was receiving $50 a month in pension payments.

Following his death on Feb. 13, 1926, Sprout was buried in the Fredericksburg National Cemetery alongside over 15,000 other Union soldiers and sailors laid to rest there.

“I think it’s very important for us to have someone like Charles Sprout here,” a National Park Service ranger says in the video, “because he almost epitomizes what the Civil War was all about.”

Bringing service histories to life

Along with thousands of other African American service members who fought to preserve the Union, Sprout’s story — of fleeing slavery, putting his life on the line to end it, and living and working near where he was once enslaved — is told through original muster rolls, returns, books and morning reports, and medical files.

“To have a file of documents and information like that which exists for Charles Sprout is really integral for us to be able to go ahead and share those stories with the public,” the ranger says.

Learn more

Read more stories of USCT service in Weidman’s article: https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/article.html

Search the main database of USCT records: https://catalog.archives.gov/search?page=1&q=uscotrp-ts1

Learn how to become a “citizen archivist”: https://www.archives.gov/citizen-archivist/missions/history

Watch “Charles Sprout: A Civil War Soldier Revisited”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P07gWZEy_Zw&t=223s

Pvt Charles Sprout (unknown-1926) - Find a Grave...

Co. E, 1 US Cav. see bio for source p 80 Michael Bogoslawski sent: Sprout, Charles (also listed as Charles Henry Sprow) Private. Co.E, 1 USCT Cav. Age - 23. Born – Spotsylvania County, VA. Enlisted 12 Dec, 1863 at Ft. Monroe, VA. Discharged 4 Feb. 1866. Died 13 Feb. 1926. Married Fannie Ward 30 June, 1897; no...

Response by Amn Dale Preisach made Feb 24 at 2023 10:11 AM

2023-02-24T10:11:25-05:00

What of the Black soldiers of the Confederacy??
There were several battles in which colored troops from both sides were engaged in battle.

Response by SSgt Richard Kensinger made Feb 24 at 2023 10:15 AM

2023-02-24T10:15:07-05:00

So many served faithfully and compently for a country who disenfranchises them; and this includes the Native Americans.
Rich

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 25 at 2023 10:46 AM

2023-02-25T10:46:55-05:00

https://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/blackrights/jimcrow

HUSL Library: A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States: Jim Crow Era

This guide focuses on the civil rights that various groups have fought for within the United States.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 25 at 2023 10:48 AM

2023-02-25T10:48:21-05:00

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/black-confederates-truth-and-legend

Black Confederates: Truth and Legend

"Black Confederates" is the Civil War Trust's historical article outlining the role of black people in the Southern war effort.

Response by CPL LaForest Gray made Feb 25 at 2023 3:16 PM

2023-02-25T15:16:25-05:00

https://youtube.com/watch?v=TvSgUXStGJ8&feature=share

1.) How the GI Bill's Promise Was Denied to a Million Black WWII Veterans
Erin BlakemoreApr 20, 2021

SOURCE :

https://www.history.com/news/gi-bill-black-wwii-veterans-benefits

2.) After the War: Blacks and the G.I. Bill

SOURCE :

https://americanexperience.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/After-the-War-Blacks-and-the-GI-Bill.pdf

3.) 1945 Black veterans return from World War II

In many ways returned Black World War II veterans changed the climate of the South by taking up the deliberate and concerted work of dismantling white supremacy. On July 2, 1946, for example, twenty-one-year-old Medgar Evers, his brother Charles, and four other Black World War II veterans, went to the courthouse in Decatur, Mississippi to vote. They had been the first Black people there to attempt to register to vote since Reconstruction. The six veterans had returned home after fighting for democracy in France and England to find that they were still only second-class citizens.

When they arrived at the courthouse that election day, fifteen to twenty armed white men were waiting for them. So, Evers and his comrades went home to get their guns. The mob was still waiting when they returned to the courthouse, and the six veterans decided not to fight or vote that day. But that wasn’t the end. Both Medgar and his brother would go on to become important leaders in Mississippi’s Freedom Movement, Medgar especially, providing crucial support to SNCC and CORE.

While the United States denounced Hitler’s ideas of Aryan “supremacy” in Europe, U.S. hypocrisy was exposed to Black servicemen and Black civilians alike because Black people remained second-class citizens in the military and at home. Across the country, Black Americans adopted the “Double V” campaign, demanding victory abroad against fascism and victory at home over white supremacy.

SOURCE :

https://snccdigital.org/events/black-veterans-return-from-world-war-ii/

*** this a repost from myself, because people are tooooo comfortable with the status quo ***

He Risked His Life Filming This Mississippi Senator's Plantation In 1964

I have kept this kinescope in my archive since it was recorded by a colleague of mine in 1964. He had the guts to go on to the Senator James Eastland plantat...

Response by CPL LaForest Gray made Feb 25 at 2023 3:38 PM

2023-02-25T15:38:33-05:00

Keeping in mind that these MEN/these FOLLOW UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CITIZENS/SOLDIERS that were lynched during on-going Jim Crow Laws that the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT both supported and enforced against ALL Black Americans still wanted to serve and defend the USA.

Yet White TRAITORS/White Domestic Terrorist both Active Duty & Former Military Personnel … that have murdered or caused the deaths of others … wasn’t hung/lynched.

All (3) of my Grandfathers served HONORABLE under these type of conditions from WAR II/Korea and Vietnam Wars. They shared their experiences with me.

Uncles :
(1) Marines
(1) Navy
(4) Army

None of the 3 of my Grandfathers wanted me to join the “white man army”, not because they didn’t enjoy the military … they didn’t enjoy the racist and racism during their service and didn’t want myself to experience it.

Yet here I am.
——————————————
The little-known mass hanging of black soldiers in Texas in 1917
Mildred Europa Taylor March 22, 2019 at 06:22 am

SOURCE :

https://face2faceafrica.com/article/the-little-known-mass-hanging-of-black-soldiers-in-texas-in-1917

A lynching kept out of sight

Pvt. Felix Hall died in the only known murder of its kind on a U.S. military base. How hard did the government try to find his killers?

Story by Alexa Mills
Published on September 2, 2016

SOURCE :

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2016/09/02/the-story-of-the-only-known-lynching-on-a-u-s-military-base/

Remembering the black soldiers executed after Houston's 1917 race riot
February 01, 2018 · 4:00 PM EST
By James Jeffrey

SOURCE :

https://www.pri.org/stories/2018-02-01/remembering-black-soldiers-executed-after-houstons-1917-race-riot

*** Lynching has ALWAYS been a special message sent.

CENTER FOR CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS: LYNCHING POSTCARDS OF INHUMANITY EXHIBIT: JANUARY, 2011

https://kathmanduk2.wordpress.com/2008/12/24/center-for-civil-and-human-rights-lynching-postcards-of-inhumanity-exhibit-january-2011/

NSFW: AMERICAN TERRORISM … LYNCHING POSTCARDS : In
the past century on American soil – the estimated 3,436 lynchings of black American men and women between 1882 and 1950

https://cvltnation.com/nsfw-american-terrorism-lynching-postcards/

http://www.cvltnation.com/nsfw-american-terrorism-lynching-postcards/

https://www.amazon.com/Without-Sanctuary-Lynching-Photography-America/dp/ [login to see]

http://www.gettyimages.com/photos/lynching?excludenudity=true&sort=mostpopular&mediatype=photography&phrase=lynching

http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/2001/06/lynching/page1.shtml

The little-known mass hanging of black soldiers in Texas in 1917

The little-known mass hanging of black soldiers in Texas in 1917.Thirteen black soldiers were secretly hanged at dawn at a military camp outside San Antonio

Response by CPL LaForest Gray made Feb 26 at 2023 10:27 PM

2023-02-26T22:27:51-05:00

https://youtu.be/G8cVY-E5eyg

1.) State Studies and the Whiteness of White-on-White Lynching

Published online by Cambridge University Press:

04 December 2020

SOURCE : https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-gilded-age-and-progressive-era/article/abs/state-studies-and-the-whiteness-of-whiteonwhite-lynching/9A9EBA253D [login to see] 26C4E67A7654#

2.) Many whites were lynched for fighting racism :

“While some whites were lynched for murder or stealing cattle, there is another important reason many were lynched. Many whites were lynched for helping blacks or being anti-lynching. According to David Barton’s extensively well-documented book, "Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black & White," the original targets of the Ku Klux Klan were Republicans, both black and white.

The Klan terrorized both black and white Americans not to vote for Republican tickets. “Of all forms of violent intimidation, lynchings were by far the most effective.”

Republicans often led the efforts to pass federal anti-lynching laws and their platforms consistently called for a ban on lynching. “Democrats successfully blocked those bills and their platforms never did condemn lynchings.”

SOURCE : Lynchings by state and race in the U.S. 1882-1968 | Statista

SOURCE : https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/opinion/2017/09/25/many-whites-were-lynched-fighting-racism-opinion/700690001/

SOURCE : https://eji.org/reports/lynching-in-america/

"The Negro Holocaust: Lynching and Race Riots in the United States, 1880-1950" states that, contrary to present-day popular conception, lynching was not a crime committed exclusively against black people. Between the 1830s and the 1850s the majority of those lynched in the United States were whites.

From 1882-1968, some 4,743 lynchings occurred in the United States (not all lynchings were recorded). Of these, 3,446 or 73 percent were black and 1,297 (27 percent) were white. In other words, whites were the victims of more than one-fourth of all lynchings in the United States.

According to the Tuskegee Institute figures, between the years 1882 and 1951, 4,730 people were lynched in the United States: 3,437 Negro and 1,293 white. 3 The largest number of lynchings occurred in 1892. Of the 230 persons lynched that year, 161 were Negroes and sixty-nine whites.”

SOURCE : https://teachersinstitute.yale.edu/curriculum/units/1979/2/79.02.04.x.html

The 1964 Murders of the Civil Rights Workers: An FBI Investigation | Real Stories

The Horrible Mississippi Massacre | True Crime Story | Real StoriesThe FBI investigates the nationally known case of the 1964 murders of three civil rights w...

Response by CPL LaForest Gray made Feb 26 at 2023 10:43 PM

2023-02-26T22:43:03-05:00

https://youtu.be/YfgNdOCdowE

Voter suppression was spark that ignited Ocoee Massacre. A century later, Florida’s Black voters are still facing obstacles

By DESIREE STENNETT
ORLANDO SENTINEL
OCT 22, 2020 AT 5:41 AM

SOURCE : https://www.ucf.edu/pegasus/the-truth-laid-bare/

SOURCE : https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/ocoee-massacre/os-ne-black-voter-suppression-ocoee-20201022-z6kwn5xuafdevlhkvy6g6effui-htmlstory.html

COLLECTION
Civil Rights History Project

Voting Rights

https://www.loc.gov/collections/civil-rights-history-project/articles-and-essays/voting-rights/

They dared to register blacks to vote, and the KKK killed them: A 52-year-old case is closed — unsolved

https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-doj-civil-rights-20160621-snap-story.html?_amp=true

Two Murders That Ignited Passage of the Voting Rights Act

https://www.thedailybeast.com/two-murders-that-ignited-passage-of-the-voting-rights-act

The Black Politicians of Reconstruction | The History You Didn't Learn

When we learn about the Reconstruction Era in school, it’s often taught as a dark period in American history, a time of upheaval and unrest right after the C...

Response by A1C Medrick "Rick" DeVaney made Feb 28 at 2023 12:37 PM

2023-02-28T12:37:52-05:00

TERRIFIC,

WHO'S NEXT?
OMG... Who'll Be Offended If They're Not Next in Line?

So Let's Just START Here:

Japanese, Italians, Costa Rican's, Chinese, French, British, Hebrew, Greek, Panamanians,

Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Andorra
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
B
The Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei
Bulgaria
SOMEONE Has To Do It..
BFD....We Just Need A Few More MONTHS. That's All.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 28 at 2023 2:00 PM

2023-02-28T14:00:00-05:00

Black history is important & need to be taught in ALL schools.

Response by CPL LaForest Gray made Mar 3 at 2023 6:57 AM

2023-03-03T06:57:51-05:00

https://youtu.be/dwgsbZ1MsAE

Everyone on this planet that co-signs/refer to Historical FACTS of :

Ethnic Cleansing/Genocide/Mass Murder/Rape/Stolen Land/Mass incarnation/Racist Legislation & Laws of “African Americans/Black People/Colored/Negro/The African/The Backs/The Coloreds”

Is being : Disrespectful
Disingenuous
Offer Devaluation of Atrocities

of Historical FACTS of the Systematic White Racism that hasn’t ended and took place in the past & currently still ongoing within solely the boarders of the USA.

RARE Footage: Ex-Slaves talk about slavery in America :

Source :

PT. 1 : https://www.loc.gov/collections/voices-remembering-slavery/about-this-collection/

PT. 2 : https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1940003_afs03975a/

Video : https://youtu.be/fZfcc21c6Uo

As Critical Race Theory are completely wrong. Period

Definition of theory
1
: a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena
the wave theory of light
2
a
: a belief, policy, or procedure proposed or followed as the basis of action
her method is based on the theory that all children want to learn
b
: an ideal or hypothetical set of facts, principles, or circumstances —often used in the phrase in theory
in theory, we have always advocated freedom for all
3
a
: a hypothesis assumed for the sake of argument or investigation
b
: an unproved assumption : CONJECTURE
c
: a body of theorems presenting a concise systematic view of a subject
theory of equations
4
: the general or abstract principles of a body of fact, a science, or an art
music theory
5
: abstract thought : SPECULATION
6
: the analysis of a set of facts in their relation to one another

SOURCE :

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theory

No, these are FACTS. CRITICAL RACE FACTS.

“I will not apologize for telling the FACTS, in a world that worship the lies”.
**************************************************************************
BONUS FACTS : For those that always say we are complaining and living in the past :

Racist Notes in Journals of Gunman Who Killed 2 Black People Revealed by D

By Khaleda Rahman On 7/8/21 at 8:15 AM EDT

The Racist Crime was committed : June 26th, 2021.

1st Victim : African American Woman - Veteran Air Force SSG {MURDERED} (CIVILIAN)
[Because of 2021 White Racist]

2nd Victim : African American Man : Police Officer {MURDERED} (CIVILIAN) 36 yrs. Retired
[Because of 2021 White Racist]

June 28, 2021, 8:09 AM EDT / Updated June 28, 2021, 4:44 PM EDT
By Wilson Wong

“Authorities are investigating a Massachusetts shooting that left two Black people dead as a hate crime after investigators found "some troubling white supremacist rhetoric" in the gunman's handwriting, officials said Sunday.

Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins, who identified the suspected gunman as 28-year-old Nathan Allen, said during a press conference on Sunday that investigators found "antisemitic and racist statements against Black individuals."

Sources :

https://youtu.be/teaYm2zPWcY

https://www.newsweek.com/racist-notes-journals-gunman-who-killed-2-black-people-revealed-da-1607850?amp=1

Stop telling us to get over racism when whites racist in America still exist and are planning more attacks.

Churches - School - Just Living

*** this a repost from myself, because people are tooooo comfortable with the status quo ***

“I will not apologize for telling the FACTS, in a world that worship the lies”.

Ben Shapiro and Malcolm Nance on Critical Race Theory | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

Subscribe to the Real Time YouTube: http://itsh.bo/10r5A1BMalcolm Nance and Ben Shapiro join Bill to discuss the "muzzle laws" being introduced by Republican...

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 4 at 2023 4:20 AM

2023-03-04T04:20:31-05:00

There were Black officers in the USCT. The vast majority were physicians, surgeons, or chaplains. In spite of this there were some Black combat officers. Look up the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS),

https://suvcw.org/mollus/usctofficers.htm

UNITED STATES COMMISSIONED OFFICERS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN DESCENT WHO SERVED DURING THE CIVIL WAR

Response by SGT Ruben Lozada made Mar 6 at 2023 3:28 PM

2023-03-06T15:28:48-05:00

Excellent post. Thank You for sharing this.

Response by SGT Ruben Lozada made Mar 6 at 2023 3:30 PM

2023-03-06T15:30:38-05:00

What about the Tuskegee Airmen? Are high schools teaching anything about that in Florida?

Response by CPL LaForest Gray made Mar 7 at 2023 2:54 PM

2023-03-07T14:54:38-05:00

https://youtube.com/shorts/onAToE6LvDs?feature=share

Bryan Cranston says 'MAGA' could be viewed as a racist remark

Actor Bryan Cranston argues that former President Donald Trump's campaign slogan "Make America Great Again" could be viewed as racist. Watch Chris Wallace's ...

Response by PO1 Robert Ryan made Aug 17 at 2023 4:43 PM

2023-08-17T16:43:33-04:00

Morgan Freeman stated "Stop calling me a black man, and I will stop calling you a white man'. He also stated that Black History is American History . Stating anything that happened in America in the past is American History. I can't argue with that concept.

Response by SgtMaj Henry Sinclair made Dec 14 at 2023 3:51 AM

2023-12-14T03:51:13-05:00

I am sincerely grateful for your attention to this matter. I want to share my childhood story. We lived with my parents in the small town of Sedona, in the state of Arizona. Living next to us was an elderly man named Dawit Samuel; he was very kind but lonely. Over time, I became very close to him and learned that he had escaped slavery and, at the age of 18, joined the Civil War. He shared various stories, but what struck me the most was how someone could hate another person solely because of the color of their skin. At that time, I decided to write a novel about him. However, I only remembered this in my 60s. To not waste any more time, I published my memoir on free essay examples. It may seem inappropriate to write about such things on the internet. Still, I carefully considered this decision, believing that providing help for students with their assignments could influence the new generation. I'll leave the link below; perhaps someone will be interested in reading it. Please, do not hesitate to share your ideas on how I can improve my essay.