USAMHI Ethnicity - Blacks - CW RefBranch dv May 85, js Feb 90, Jul 93 BLACK UNITS, U.S. ARMY, 1862-65 A Bibliography of MHI Sources Contents Introduction..............................p.1 General Sources...........................p.2 Unit Histories - USCT...................................p.3 - State Units............................p.5 INTRODUCTORY NOTE: There are some discepancies concerning the total number of black units in the Civil War. As of 15 Jul 1865, the Bureau of Colored Troops reported 149 units on hand (139 rgts and 10 cos of light arty) and, furthermore, indicated this was the peak number. However, additional black units had been organized but were either discontinued or, for the most part, redesignated. No official source noted the total number of African-American units. Unofficial sources place that total number at 166 or 167 (see Boatner and Phisterer cited below), but counts of the black units listed in the Volunteer Register and Dyer (cited below) do not tally with those numbers. To resolve the number problem will probably require careful research in the published sources and records of the Adj Gen's Bureau of Colored Troops now in custody of the Natl Arch, Wash, DC. Part of the problem may lie in terminology. "United States Colored Troops" (USCT) designated those black soldiers recruited and organized into units by the Bureau of Colored Troops. However, the Bureau did not exist until May 1863. African-American units already raised eventually came under supervision of the Bureau, usually by a procedure involving the unit's reorganization and a change in its name and number. Exceptions to name-changing were the 54th and 55th Mass Inf and the 29th Conn Inf Rgts, which retained their state designations and remained as state units temporarily inthe service of the United States. All other USCT units were directly in the service of the United States and not "on loan" to the United States from any state. Black Units, CW p.2 GENERAL SOURCES Boatner, Mark M., III. The Civil War Dictionary. NY: McKay, 1959. pp. 84-85. RefColl. Cornish, Dudley T. The Sable Arm: Negro Troops in the Union Army, 1861-1865. NY: Longmans, Green, 1956. 337 p. E540N3C77. Dornbusch, Charles E. Military Bibliography of the Civil War. Vol II. NY: NY Public Library, 1967. pp. 147-54. Ref. Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Vol I. NY: Yoseloff, 1959. pp. 35-36 & 245-53. RefColl. Phisterer, Frederick. Statistical Record of the Armies of the United States. NY: Scribner's, 1884. pp. 12-21. E491P45. Ross, Joseph B., comp. Tabular Analysis of the Records of the U.S. Colored Troops and Their Predecessor Units in the National Archives of the United States: Special List No 33. Wash, DC: Natl Arch, 1973. 27 p. E540N3T33. Shannon, Fred A. The Organization and Administration of the Union Army, 1861-1865. Vol II. Cleveland: Clark, 1928. pp. 145- 169. E491S52v2. Describes recruiting of black troops and the organization of units. U.S. War Dept. War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. 128 vols. Wash, DC: GPO, 1880-1901. E464U6. See General Index vol under "U.S. Colored Troops." _________. Adj Gen's Off. Official Army Register of the Volunteer Force of the United States Army.... Vol VIII. Wash,DC, 16 Jul 1867. pp. 141-319. U11A3A7v8. Concise outlines of service of all USCT units. Slightly more detail than provided in Dyer's Compendium, plus a list of regimental officers. Wilson, Joseph T. Black Phalanx: A History of the Negro Soldiers of the United States in the Wars of 1775-1812, 1861-'65. Hartford, CT: American, 1868. pp. 464-478. E185.63W8. Lists the black units with their battle credits. See also: - "Black Soldiers, USA, 1862-65" (Ethnic-Blacks-CW) Black Units, CW p.3 UNITED STATES COLORED TROOPS (USCT) 1st Browne, Frederick W. My Service in the U.S. Colored Cavalry. Cincinnati: Ohi Commandery, Loyal Legion, 1908. 14 p. E492.95.1st.B76. By unit officer. 3d Main, Edward M. The Story of...the Third United States Colored Cavalry. NY: Negro UP, 1970; orig pub 1908. 321 p. E492.95.3d.M33. 4th Fleetwood, Christian. "'...to Benefit My Race': A Black Medal of Honor Winner's Bitter Account of Army Treatment." CW Times Illus 16 (Jul 1977): pp. 18-19. Per. _________. The Negro as a Soldier: Written by...Late Sergeant-Major 4th U.S. Colored Troops.... Wash, DC: Howard U, 1895. 19 p. E173P18no240pam7. 5th Levstick, Frank, ed. "From Slavery to Freedom: Two Wartime Letter ofOne of the Conflict's Few Black Medal Winners." CW Times 11 (Nov 1972): pp. 10-15. Per. Re Milton M. Holland. Synnestvedt, Sig, ed. "The Earth Shook and Quivered." CW Times 11 (Dec 1972): pp. 30-37. Per. Diary of LT Joseph J. Scroggs. 7th Califf, J.M. Record of the Services of the Seventh Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops, from September, 1863, to November, 1866. Providence, RI: Freeman, 1878. 146 p. E592.94.7th.C35. Incl unit roster. 7th Sherman, George R. "The Negro as a Soldier." Personal Narratives of Events in the War of the Rebellion, Being Papers Read Before the Rhode Island Soldiers and Sailors Historical Society. 7th ser, No 7. Providence, RI: The Society, 1913. 34 p. E464R4. By captain in unit. 8th Horrocks, James. My Dear Parents: The Civil War Seen by a English Union Soldier. Ed by A.S. Lewis. NY: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1982. 188 p. E601H79. Pages 137-161 contains letters written in the fall of 1865 when the Englishman was with the 8th USCT Inf, TX. Black Units, CW p.4 9th Dennett, George M. History of the Ninth U.S.C. Troops.... Phila: King & Baird, 1866. 148 p. E492.94.9th.D45. Unit roster. 14th Morgan, Thomas J. "Reminiscences of Service with Colored Troops in the Army of the Cumberland, 1863-65." Personal Narratives. Vol 3. Providence, RI: Soldiers and Sailors Hist Soc of RI, 1885. 52 p. E464R4. By organizer of 14th. 19th Rickard, James H. "Services with Colored Troops in Burside's Corps." Personal Narratives of Events in the War of the Rebellion, Being Papers Read Before the Rhode Island Soldiers and Sailors Historical Society. Ser 5, no 1. Providence, RI: The Society, 1894. 43 p. E464R4. By captain in 19th USCT. 30th Tyler, Charles M. Memorials of Lieutenant George H. Walcott, Late of the 30th U.S. Colored Troops. Boston: MA Sabbath School Soc, 1865. 106 p. E492.94.30th.T9. 32d Baird, George W. The 32d Regiment, U.S.C.T. at the Battle Honey Hill. n.p., 1889. 4 p. E173P18no243. Reply to article by C.C. Soule of the 55th MA Vols which slighted 32d USCT's role. 37th History of the Thirty-seventh Regt. USC Infantry.... Phila: King & Baird, 1866. 136 p. E492.94.37th.H37. 43d Dill, Robert G. "The Soldiers' Homeward Voyage: A Thrilling Experience at the Close of the Late Civil War." Mag Amer Hist 11 (1884): pp. 445-53. Per. Mickley, Jeremiah M. The Forty-third Regiment United States Colored Troops. Gettysburg, PA: Wible, 1866. 88 p. E492.94.43d.M5. Phillips, Marion G. , & Parsegian, Valerie P., eds. Richard Rhoda: Letters from the Civil War. Wash, DC: Legation, 1981. 112 p. E601P56. 58th Hobart, Edwin L. Semi-History of a Boy-Veteran of the Twenty-Eighth Regiment Illinois Infantry Volunteers, in a Black Regiment. n.p., n.d. 95 p. E505.5.28thH632. See pp. 21-41 on his earlier experiences in 58th USCT. Black Units, CW p.5 59th Cowden, Robert. A Brief Sketch of the Organization and Services of the Fifty-Ninth Regiment of United States Colored Infantry, and Biographical Sketches. Dayton, OH: United Brethren Pub, 1883. 293 p. E492.94.59th.C69. Steiner, Paul E. Medical History of a Civil War Regiment: Disease in the Sixty-fifth US Colored Infantry. Clayton, MO: Inst of CW Studies, 1977. 137 p. E621S83. 79th Carle, Glenn L. "The First Kansas Colored." Amer Heritage 43 (FebMar 1992): pp. 78-82, 84-88 & 90-91. E508.51.1st.C37. 80th Sturtevant, Arnold H., ed. Josiah Volunteered: A Collection of Diaries, Letters and Photographs of Josiah H. Sturtevant, His Wife, Helen, and his Four Children. Farmington, ME: Knowlton, 1977. 559 p. F18S89. Served as lt. 104th Rollin, Frank A. Life and Public Services of Martin R. Delany.... Boston: Lee & Shepard, 1868. 367 p. E185.97D33R6. Delaney, a black major, served in 104th USCT and as official of Freedmen's Bureau. 116th Kireker, Charles. History of the 116th Regiment U.S.C. Infantry.... Phila: King & Baird, 1866. 131 p. E492.94.116th.K57 Incls complete roster. STATE UNITS 29th CONNECTICUT INF Newton, A.H. Out of the Briars: An Autobiography and Sketch of the Twenty-Ninth Regiment Connecticut Volunteers. Miami, FL: Mnemosyne, 1969; orig pub 1910. 269 p. E499.5.29th.N482. 5th MASSACHUSETTS CAV Ford, Worthington Chauncey, ed. A Cycle of Adams Letters, 1861- 1865. 2 vols. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1920. E601F71. Letters of Charles Francis Adams and his two sons include a record of Junior's experiences commanding 5th Mass Cav. For his high opinion of his black soldiers, see index under "Negroes." Black Units, CW p.6 54TH MASS INF Cochran, Darrell. "They Didn't Falter." Soldiers (Feb 1992): pp. 34-36. Per. Emilio, Luis F. The Assualt on Fort Wagner, July 18, 1863: The Memorable Charge of the Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers. Boston: Rand Avery, 1887. 16 p. E475.63E53. See also E173P18no227. _________. A Brave Black Regiment: History of the Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, 1863-1865. NY: Arno, 1969; orig pub 1894. 452 p. E513.5.54th.E453. Incls unit roster. Unit involved in 1863 campaign on Sea Islands, attack on Ft Wagner, and siege of Charleston. _________. History of the Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Massachu- setts Volunteer Infantry, 1863-1865. Boston: Boston Book, 1894. 452 p. E513.5.54th.E53. Incls unit roster. Gibbs, C.R. "The 54th Massachusetts Volunteers of African Descent." Vedette IX (Spring 1973): pp. 12-15, plate. Per. Greely, A.W. Reminiscences of Adventure and Service. NY: Scribner's, 1927. 356 p. E181G79. Chap 13 covers his service with 54th. See pp. 98-99 for comments on black troops. Hawkins, William G. Lunsford Lane; or, Another Helper from North Carolina. NY: Negro UP; orig pub 1863. 305 p. E444L262. Negro abolitionist. See Chap XIII on 54th. James, Garth W. "The Assault on Fort Wagner." War Papers Vol 1. Milwaukee, WI: Burdick, Armitage & Allen, 1891. pp. 9-30. E464M74v1. By member of 44th Mas Rgt, but incls 54th Mass prominently in his article. Shaw, Robert Gould. "Letters From Camp." Magazine of History 18-19 (1914): pp. 226-231 & 25-31. Per. Shaw, killed at Ft Wagner, commanded unit. 1st MICH INF Michigan. Adj Gen's Off. Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War, 1861-1865: First Colored Infantry. Kalamazoo, MI: Legislature, n.d. 120 p. E514.3M62v46. Black Units, CW p.7 14th RHODE ISLAND ARTY Addeman, J.M. "Reminiscences of Two Years with the Colored Troops." Personal Narratives of Events in the War of the Rebellion, Being Papers Read Before the Rhode Island Soldiers and Sailors Historical Society. Second series, no 7. Providence, RI: William, 1880. 38 p. E464R4. By captain in unit, which served along lower Miss R., 1864-65. Chenery, William H. The Fourteenth Regiment Rhode Island Heavy Artillery (Colored) in the War to Preserve the Union, 1861- 1865. Providence, RI: Snow & Farnham, 1898. 343 p. E528.7-14th-C44. Incls unit roster. 1st SOUTH CAROLINA INF Bingham, Luther G. The Young Quartermaster: The Life and Death of Lieut. L.M. Bingham, of the First South Carolina Volunteers. NY: Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, 1863. 216 p. E601B61. Lt Bingham died during siege of Charleston. Burchard, Peter. One Gallant Rush: Robert Gould Shaw and His Brave Black Regiment. NY: St Martin's, 1965. 168 p. E51.5-54th-B8. Higginson, Thomas W. Army Life in a Black Regiment. Boston: Fields, Osgood, 1870. 296 p. E492.94.33d.H53 By Col of the first ex-slave rgt mustered into US Army. Also 1960 ed. _________. "The Reoccupation of Jacksonville in 1863." Civil War Papers. Vol 2. Boston: Mil Order of Loyal Legion, MA Commandery, 1900. pp. 467-474. E464M61. Hosmer, James K. The Color-Guard: Being Corporal's Notes on Military Service in the Nineteenth Army Corps. Boston: Walker, Wise, 1864. 244 p. E513.5.52d.N68. By member of 52d Mass who refers to black troops, incl 1st SC on pp. 158, 177-178 & 209-212. Taylor, Susie King. Reminiscences of My Life in Camp. NY: Arno, 1968; orig pub 1902. 82 p. E492.94-33d-T32. She taught men of 1st SC.