The 32nd USCT Regiment was organized in March 1864 at Camp William Penn outside Philadelphia. After training was completed, the regiment was sent to South Carolina in late April 1864. These men participated in a number of engagements while assigned to the Department of the South. “Towards the close of November [1864], General Foster, in […]
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May
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May
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The 127th USCT Regiment was organized in September 1864 and received training at Camp William Penn. Records indicate that this regiment only participated in a single battle: “On arriving at the front, it was incorporated with the Army of the James. The official army register of Colored Troops, shows that the only battle in which […]
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Apr
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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 […]
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Discovering the Civil War
Posted by sailerd Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Places to Visit, Recent News, VideoThis 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 […]
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Apr
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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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Apr
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Presentation of Colors to the 20th USCT
Posted by sailerd Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Historic PeriodicalsAs 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 […]
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Apr
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Voting Rights and the Grand Review (Nov. 1865)
Posted by sailerd Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Recent ScholarshipWhile 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 […]
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Apr
10
Civil War Letters of John C. Brock
Posted by Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Letters & Diaries, Recent ScholarshipThe 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 […]
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Apr
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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 […]
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Apr
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Battle of Port Hudson (May 1863)
Posted by sailerd Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Historic Periodicals, ImagesThe 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 […]
