The 41st USCT Regiment was organized at Camp William Penn in the fall of 1864. This regiment participated in several engagements in Virginia:

• “On the 27th of March [1864], in connection with the Twenty fourth Corps, under command of General Ord, to the Second Division of which it now belonged, it move to join the Army of the Potomac, arriving at Hatcher’s Run on the 29th. It was immediately ordered upon the front, where it threw up breastworks and skirmished with the enemy. On the 2d of April, it was engaged before Petersburg, losing one killed and eight wounded, and at evening moved in pursuit of the rebel army, following the line of the South Side Railroad. The pursuit was pushed with little interruption until the regiment reached Appomattox Court House, where, on the 9th, while upon the skirmish line, Captain John W Falconer was mortally wounded, dying on the 23d.”

After Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, the 41st USCT regiment was sent to Texas. The regimented was stationed there until the men were mustered out of service at Brownsville, Texas, on November 10, 1865. The full summary of the 41st USCT Regiment’s actions during the Civil War as well as the complete muster roll is available through Google Books in volume five of Samuel P. Bates, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5 (1871).

This article from the Washington Post describes “Discovering the Civil War,” a new exhibit that will open at the National Archives in Washington D.C. on Friday. This exhibit, as reporter Michael E. Ruane explains, “seeks to explore more of the little-known aspects of the battle and glimpse some of the dimmer corners of the conflict that remade the country and that so many Americans think they know so well.” You can watch the exhibit teaser on YouTube and learn more about this exhibit here.

Update – Read the Washington Post‘s review of this exhibit.

Watch a short slideshow or take a look at these images related to the United States Colored Troops (USCT). All of these images are from the Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

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As USCT regiments were organized in northern states, they were often honored at ceremonies held in local cities or at their training camps. A previous post described a flag raising ceremony at Camp William Penn. This article in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, however, described the event at which the 20th USCT received their colors in New York City. “A vast crowd of citizens of every shade of color, and every phase of social and political life, filled the square, and streets, and every door, window, veranda, tree and housetop that commanded a view of the scene was peopled with spectators,” as the reporter observed. You can read the entire article here.

While Gerald G. Eggert’s article in Pennsylvania History focuses on the experiences of Harrisburg’s African American community throughout a century, it also includes a short but interesting description of Harrisburg’s Grand Review in November 1865. The parade in Harrisburg was clearly an opportunity for that community to honor the African Americans who served in the USCT during the Civil War. Yet the Grand Review’s organizers had other important objectives as well. “These leaders hoped to use the occasion to build support for extending the suffrage once more to blacks,” as Eggert observes. African American men in Pennsylvania, however, were not able to vote until the 15th Amendment was adopted in 1870. Pennsylvania History, which is the official journal of the Pennsylvania Historical Association, is available through a digital archive that contains all of the issues published between 1934 and 2005. Eggert’s article is available here as PDF file – see page 16 for Eggert’s description of the Grand Review. (Note that Adobe Reader has to be installed on your computer in order to read this article.)

The book Making and Remaking Pennsylvania’s Civil War is a collection of essays about the events and legacies of the Civil War in Pennsylvania.  The essay “The Civil War Letters of Quartermaster Sergeant John C. Brock, 43rd Regiment, United States Colored Troops,” edited by Eric Ledell Smith, focuses specifically on the issue of African-American troops from Pennsylvania.  The first part of the chapter contains a synthesis of the history of African-American troops during the Civil War in general and specifically in Pennsylvania.  The second part contains nine letters written by John C. Brock to the Christian Recorder, a newspaper published in Philadelphia by the African Methodist Church.  Smith gives a good biography of Brock and explains the context and background of each letter.  John C. Brock was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1843, and he enlisted in the army at Camp William Penn in April 1864.   One of the exceptions to the general rule of not assigning colored regiments to combat duty, the 43rd regiment arrived in Virginia as part of the rear guard to the Army of the Potomac and Brock shared, “You cannot imagine with what surprise the inhabitants of the South gaze upon us.”  Later, when his regiment proudly passed through Fairfax, Virginia “armed to the teeth, with bayonets bristling in the sun,” Brock echoed the same sentiment: , “The inhabitants… looked at us with astonishment, as if we were some great monsters risen up out of the ground.”  His letters cover a wide range of topics, from religion to food and supplies to other African-American troops from Pennsylvania.  Unfortunately, although his regiment was present at the Battle of the Crater, Brock does not mention it in his letters, and he also rarely elaborates on the issue of slavery, instead choosing to focus on topics more relevant to his everyday life in the army.  His last letter in March 1865 briefly broaches the topic with eloquence and a great deal of optimism: “The hydra-headed monster slavery which, a few short years ago, stalked over the land with proud and gigantic strides, we now behold drooping and dying under the scourging lash of universal freedom…. The bondmen of the South have heard that single word ‘liberty,’ and they will not heed the siren voice of their humbled masters.”  Brock is clearly proud to have had a part in defeating the South and the institution of slavery.  These letters are a valuable resource for studying the Civil War from a perspective that is often overlooked, that of an African-American soldier in combat duty.

The 3rd USCT Regiment, which was organized in August 1863, was the first unit to receive training at Camp William Penn, located outside of Philadelphia. (You can read about this regiment’s flag raising ceremony in a previous post). The War Department initially sent this regiment to South Carolina, where it was involved in the campaign to seize Fort Wagner:

• “Soon after its organization, the Third was ordered to the Department of the South and proceeded thither, arriving at Morris Island while the siege of Fort Wagner was in full progress. It was immediately put into the trenches, and shared in the hardships of that memorable trial of skill and endurance which resulted in the fall of the fort. The loss during this siege was six killed and twelve wounded. In one of the night attacks which resulted in the capture of a line of rifle pits, a Corporal was reported missing. Two days after, the advance sappers came upon his dead body. Warned by previous experience, they were careful to examine it thoroughly before attempting to remove it. A small string was discovered attached to its leg, which led away to the trigger of a torpedo buried in the sand. Such was the warfare which this command was called to meet.”

This regiment was sent to Florida in early 1864 and remained there until it was disbanded in October 1865. The full summary of the 3rd USCT Regiment’s actions during the Civil War and the complete muster roll is available through Google Books in volume five of Samuel P. Bates, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5 (1871).

The Battle of Port Hudson on May 27, 1863 did not include USCT regiments organized in Pennsylvania, but it was among the first major engagements of the Civil War that involved African American regiments. The Union’s efforts in late May 1863 failed to capture Port Hudson, Louisiana, which in turn led to a siege that ended on July 9 when the Confederates surrendered. Yet even though the initial attack had failed, the African American regiments’ actions during that battle were singled out as particularly noteworthy. Union General Nathaniel P. Banks noted in his official report that “[the men’s] conduct was heroric” and that “no troops could be more determined or more daring.” In one day “they made…three charges upon the batteries of the enemy, suffering very heavy losses, and [held] their positions at nightfall with the other troops,” as Banks explained. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper published Banks’ report along with a poem written by a Philadelphia poet. Some northerners questioned whether USCT regiments would be effective against Confederate forces, but this battle and others provided irrefutable evidence as to how wrong their original assumptions had been. “We may be sure” that those regiments, “after Port Hudson, [will not] be again exposed to sneers or insult,” as a Harper’s Weekly editorial concluded.

See images related to this event in the Slideshow below –

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Jeffry Wert’s article in Pennsylvania History provides a great overview of Camp William Penn’s operation as well as interesting details on events that took place at the camp. Camp William Penn, which was located outside Philadelphia, was a critical part of the effort to train African Americans for service in the USCT during the Civil War. Over 10,000 men were trained at the camp between 1863 and 1865. While “the record is mute” as to who picked the location outside Philidelphia for building the camp, Wert notes that “whoever…[it was] chose wisely.” “The training site was located near ‘Roadsite,’” which has Wert explains, was “the home of abolitionists James and Lucretia Mott.” Pennsylvania History, which is the official journal of the Pennsylvania Historical Association, is available through a digital archive that contains all of the issues published between 1934 and 2005. Wert’s article is available here as PDF file. (Note that Adobe Reader has to be installed on your computer in order to read this article.)

The Library of Congress provides a wealth of resources for teachers to use in the classroom.  Most helpful are the themed Collection Connections, which seek to give historical context to the Library’s collections and assist teachers in using them in the classroom.  One of these Collection Connections is on the Abraham Lincoln papers.  In this section, documents by Abraham Lincoln have been selected for each of several categories.  These resources are invaluable for anyone studying the life and times of Abraham Lincoln.  One of the categories is Lincoln’s 1860 presidential campaign.  There are four key documents included to illustrate this period of Lincoln’s life, including speech notes, campaign posters, and a letter.  This selection of a few key documents serves to underscore the main themes and events of the campaign, and there are discussion questions included as well for teachers to use in the classroom.  The page presents the information in a clear way but requires a critical reading of the texts as well.  To help students further analyze the documents, there is a critical thinking page designed to give assistance with interpretation and analysis of events during Abraham Lincoln’s lifetime.