This is near the place where the first African indentured laborers landed in the English North American Colonies in 1619. Later this site became a Civil War Fort built by enslaved Africans for the defense of the Confederate States.
July 1 and 2, 1863. U.S.C. T. 79th Infantry also known as 1st Kansans (Colored)
This engagement along the creek bed in Indian Territory involved not only African-Americans but also Native Americans who fought for both the Union and Confederate Forces. It was also the first time that the entire 1st Kansas (Colored) Regiment had fought together.
This town and its harbor were the last stop on the Underground Railroad's Central New York line in the United States. Directly across from Oswego is Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and the final destination for fugitives seeking freedom. The most famous passenger on this line was William "Jerry " Henry an escaped slave from Missouri. Henry's arrest under the provisions of the revised Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 and rescue from jail by a crowd of black and white abolitionists in Syracuse on October 1, 1851 became known as the Jerry Rescue. The event was electrifying news across the country cheered in he north and condemned in the south. The Jerry Rescue and the September 11 armed resistance to slave catchers at Christiana, Pennsylvania were portents leading up to the Civil War.
The first regiment raised at Camp Delaware was the 5th U.S.C.T which completed its training in November of 1863. It joined the Army of the James and was to see action in ten battles in Virginia. One of the chief recruiters for this regiment was John Mercer Langston, who had earlier recruited men for the 54th and 55th Massachusetts regiments. Langston, a graduate of Oberlin College and the first African-American to become a member of the Ohio bar became the founder and first dean of the Howard University Law School. The poet, Langston Hughes was the great great grandson of Charles Henry Langston, brother of John Mercer Langston.
June 11, 1863. 54th Massachusetts and 2nd North Carolina Infantry.
The raid and destruction of this low priority military target lead by Colonel Montgomery of the 2nd North Carolina and depicted in the opening scenes of the movie, Glory so incensed Colonel Shaw, commander of the 54th that he vowed his troops would never be used in this way again. Through intermediaries Shaw got the 54th assigned to lead the assault on Battery Wagner on July 18, 1863. This action witnessed by a large number of reporters helped to establish in the popular press and in opinion circles in the North that African-American solders could and would fight in a large-scale military operation.
September 29, 1864. U.S.C.T. 7th, 8th, 9th, 5th Infantry.
The earth works of this fort where stormed with a terrible lost of life by the 7th Infantry. Four companies of this regiment under the command of Captain Weiss reported 20 dead, 80 wounded and 136 missing in the official accounts of the action but those figures were based on the bodies recovered. 2 African-American Solders saw significant action in nearly all of the engagements in the closing year of the war in Petersburg and Richmond.
July 17th 1863. U.S. C.T. 79th (new) also 1st Kansas Colored (old) Infantry.
This engagement at Confederate States supply depot at Honey Springs resulted in a Union victory. Writing in his official report General Blunt noted: “the 1st Kansas Colored, particularly distinguished itself…Their coolness and bravery I have never seen surpassed.”
General U.S. Grant’s Army marched passed Windsor in route to the Vicksburg Campaign in 1863.
African-American solders serving in the 54th Massachusetts Regiment and other U.S.C.T. regiments are buried in this part of the cemetery. General Lee’s family owned Arlington Plantation; the Federal Government confiscated the property at the beginning of the Civil War and slaves from the surrounding countryside flocked to it to become emancipated. Many died in the Freedman’s Village located near Section 27 and their government issued headstones was inscribed with their names and the word “Civilian” or “Citizen”.
May 12-13, 1865. U.S.C.T. 62nd Infantry.
It was near this position that Confederate forces from Brownsville met Union Army forces for the last military action of the Civil War.
July 13, 14 and 15, 1864. U.S.C.T. 59th, 61st and 68th Infantry.
Today Tupelo is best known as the birthplace of Elvis Presley. During the Civil War it was and is today and important rail route for which both sides fought for control.
May 22 to July 8, 1863. U.S.C.T. 73rd (1st Louisiana Native Guards), 75th (3rd Louisiana Native Guards), 78th, 79th (old), 80th, 81st, 82nd and 95th.
This is the view of Telegraph Road coming from the Port Hudson settlement and river batteries to the earth works located on a bluff; all were built with slave labor. The capture of these fortifications was the objective of the Union Army from May 22 to July 8, 1863 when Port Hudson surrendered after the fall of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863.
U.S.C.T. 96th Infantry August 2 to 8, 1864.
This fort located on Dauphin Island at the western entrance to Mobile Bay was built with the assistance of slave labor. By 1864 Mobile was one of the last ports open to blockade-runners bring in supplies to the Confederacy. Admiral David Farragut assembled a large strike force of soldiers and ships to capture the forts that guarded Mobile Bay. On August 3rd troops including the 96th landed near the fort and for the next 5 days a land and sea battle raged for control of Mobile Bay. Farragut on August 7 sent a boat bearing a truce flag with a demand for surrender, which was accepted by the Confederate command on August 8, 1863.
August 2 to 8, 1864. U.S.C.T. 96th Infantry.
Natchez, Mississippi area slaves where freed in 1863 when Union Army forces occupied the city, many of these slaves joined the Union forces. Wilson Brown, a former slave joined the Union Navy and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his service at the battle of Mobile Bay.
July 1 and 2, 1863. U.S.C.T. 79th (new) Infantry also known as the 1st Kansas (Colored) Regiment
February 14, 1864. U.S, C.T. 49th Infantry. April 20, 1864. U.S.C.T. 63rd Infantry.
May 15, 1865. U.S.C.T. 62nd Infantry.
The pilings shown predate the Civil War and supported a bridge used by Union Army Regiments to move from their base in Brazos Santiago, which can be seen in the distance to mount an unsuccessful action against Fort Brown. The movement of these troops after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox on April 9 constitutes the last fighting of the Civil War.