Yearly Archives: 2010

127th USCT Regiment

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 this regiment participated, was at Deep Bottom, and the only loss in killed and wounded it sustained, was one man, killed in this battle. It was sent with other troops to Texas, after the close of hostilities in the east, and was posted on the Mexican frontier….The battalion was mustered out of service on the 20th of October [1865].”

You can read the full summary of the 127th USCT Regiment’s actions during the Civil War as well as see the complete muster roll here.

(Courtesy of Google Books – Samuel P. Bates, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5 (Harrisburg: B. Singerly, 1871), 5: 1125-1137.)

Grand Review Times Supplement

Check out the supplement “Grand Review Times: A Call for the Descendants of USCT Troops from Camp William Penn 1863 to the Harrisburg Grand Review, 1865” that appeared in the March 22, 2010 issue of ShowcaseNow! Magazine. You can read a short essay entitled “Laying the Groundwork for the USCT: Lincoln and Emancipation,” read several descendants’ profiles, and learn more about how to get involved in this event. (Adobe Reader must be installed on your computer in order to read this document.)

(Courtesy of visitpa.com & ShowcaseNow! Magazine)
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Isaac Cole, 32nd Regiment U.S.C.T.

Isaac Cole (? - 1889), 32nd Regiment U.S.C.T.

(Essay written by Frank Hebblethwaite — Park Ranger, Hopewell Furnace NHS)

Abraham Lincoln referred to history as the “mystic chords of memory”. Those mystic chords of collective memory bind us together. Our common history connects us to each other in the present and to our ancestors in the past. It is a privilege to encounter those among us who instinctively recognize the importance of understanding and sharing their connections with the past in order to gain a fuller appreciation of who we are in the present.

Members of one family who have gained such an understanding of their past and have generously shared it with others are descendants of Isaac Cole, who enlisted in the Union Army in Reading, Pennsylvania on February 20, 1864 at the age of 40. The Mt. Frisby African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church Cemetery, where Isaac Cole is buried, is located on property that has been in the Cole family since the middle of the 19th century. John Cole, Isaac’s great-grandson, and his wife Barbara, who are the current owners of the property, have graciously allowed historians, park rangers, and other researchers to visit Isaac Cole’s burial site and to examine the words and dates chiseled on his government-issued headstone. They have also participated in numerous interviews so others might learn about their family history.
While little is known of Isaac Cole’s life prior to his enlistment into the Union Army, his military and census records have left us with a good deal of information about his life after he reported for duty to Camp William Penn in Philadelphia, where he was mustered into Company H, 32nd Regiment, United States Colored Troops.

The 32nd Regiment was ordered to Hilton Head, South Carolina in April 1864 and remained on duty there until June of the same year. The regiment then moved to Morris Island, South Carolina, where they operated against Charleston. Between the end of November 1864 and the middle of February 1865, the men of the 32nd Regiment participated in an expedition to Boyd’s Neck, demonstrations on Charleston Camp, Savannah Railroad, Devaux’s Neck, and James Island, and the Battle of Honey Hill. After occupying Charleston from late February to the middle of April 1865, they took part in Potter’s Expedition, along with expeditions to Dingles’s Mills and Statesboro. Toward the end of April, the 32nd Regiment occupied Camden, Boydkin’s Mills, Beach Creek, and Denken’s Mills in rapid succession. The regiment then performed garrison duty at Charleston, Beaufort, and Hilton head, South Carolina until the middle of August. The 32nd Regiment was mustered out on August 22, 1865.

Isaac Cole’s application for an invalid pension, based on a foot injury he suffered while in camp in South Carolina, was rejected in 1887. Shortly after Isaac’s death in 1889, Continue reading →

Descendants’ Profiles

These five descendants’ profiles were published in “Grand Review Times: A Call for the Descendants of USCT Troops from Camp William Penn 1863 to the Harrisburg Grand Review, 1865,” a supplement that appeared in the March 22, 2010 issue of ShowcaseNow! Magazine. You can read these profiles by clicking on the images below or by downloading the supplement. (Adobe Reader must be installed on your computer in order to read this document.)

Share your own story by adding a comment to this post or by emailing hdivided@dickinson.edu.

(Courtesy of visitpa.com & ShowcaseNow! Magazine)

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Civil War Letters of John C. Brock

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.

3rd USCT Regiment

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. You can read the full summary of the 3rd USCT Regiment’s actions during the Civil War as well as see the complete muster roll here.

(Courtesy of Google Books – Samuel P. Bates, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5 (Harrisburg: B. Singerly, 1871), 5: 925-942.)

We are looking for 100 young African American men ages 18-30!

We are looking for 100 young African American men ages 18-30!

Including:

  • Twenty from the five counties of Philadelphia and the countryside
  • Twenty from the eight counties of Dutch Country Roads (Central Pa.)
  • Twenty from the counties of the Susquehanna Valley and Alleghenies and Her Valleys
  • Twenty from the Western Pennsylvania counties of Pittsburgh and its countryside
  • Twenty from the Appalachian Region counties of Pa Wilds, Up State Pa and Great Lakes Region
  • Training and certification, continuing education credits, stipends, and placement will be provided to all participants.

HOW TO APPLY

  • This project is primarily designed for current students with well disciplined learning skills and self management techniques. In addition, reading, writing, speaking, time management, and research skills are paramount to the success of the program. Travel is required.
  • This project is supported in part by the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. First priority will be given to young African American men enrolled in one of the following institutions:
    • Bloomsburg, California, Cheney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock, West Chester.
  • Consult your Provost office for more information.
  • Students enrolled in full time, part time, or continuing education projects at other academic institutions are also invited to apply.
  • Candidates should be currently enrolled in some academic program that demonstrates their ability for research, project management, demonstration of capacity via grade point average, projects and classroom products etc. Specifically, students will need to get a recommendation from a professor or instructor nominating them and assuring their self discipline and ability in self guided research.
  • Journalism, communications, history, political science, ROTC, sociology, education, theater, museum studies, tourism and hospitality students are all encouraged to apply.
  • Interested students need to submit the letter of endorsement, an application including name, address, university, phone, cell, face book address, and email address, photo and one paragraph bio. The bio should include job skills, academic and practical achievement, skills, hobbies, clubs, community service and other achievements, award.
  • The application should also include a 300-500 word essay on one of the following themes:
    • Liberty
    • Equality
    • Community
    • Fraternity
  • The entire application package needs to be mailed no later than May 21st. to:

Lenwood Sloan
Director of Cultural and Heritage Tourism Program
Department of Community & Economic Development
(717)720-1313
Commonwealth Keystone Building
400 North Street, 4th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17120-0225

  • If you have additional questions, please email Mr. Sloan at lsloan@state.pa.us
  • Due to the volume of inquires; all questions will be answered by e-mail. Generally no phone inquiries will receive reply!
  • NO ELECTRONIC APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED! Incomplete applications are not likely to be considered
  • A special orientation event will be held May 20th in Harrisburg at Midtown Cinema and Midtown bookstore. Visit the events page on housedivided.dickinson.edu/grandreview for more information about these orientations and interviews.
  • Mr. Sloan will email candidates selected for interviews no later than May 26th.
  • A project team will visit select institutions in the state universities system to meet candidates between June 1st and June 15th so that everyone selected for interviews has been given both one on one and small group interviews and exchanges. State University sites include: Cheney, Millersville, Kutztown, Shippensburg, California University, Bloomsburg, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Slippery Rock.

During this on-campus visit—selected students should plan to spend the afternoon (noon-4pm) with the team:

  • Students should:
    • Prepare to attend the 90 min group workshop ( period movement for actors) followed by project orientation;
    • Present a 1-3 minute speech based on their submitted essay;

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

  • In addition, Selected Students will be required to
    • (a) Attend the Penn State university retreat – June 26-27
    • (b) Attend the men’s soldiers’ camp Aug. 28-29
    • (c) Participate in your team’s conservation weekend activities
    • (d) Attend the area project based learning events at designated school
    • (e) Attend the Grand Review activities Nov 5-6
    • (f) Participate in your team’s Nov 14 commemoration events
    • (g) Participate in Gettysburg commemoration Nov 19th
  • Students will be provided a stipend of $100.00, a travel stipend of $50.00 and meals and lodging plus learning materials for each of the seven (7) engagements above.
  • If you are not currently enrolled in a continuing education or academic program you must seek an additional letter of recommendation confirming you ability to achieve self managed.

ALL PARTIICPANTS MUST BE SELF RELIANT AND WILLING AND ABLE TO TRAVEL WITHIN THE 60 -90 MILE RADIUS OF THEIR HOME/UNIVERSITY LOCATIONS!

Battle of Port Hudson (May 1863)

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.

(Courtesy of the House Divided Project – “Battle of Port Hudson: The Charge of the 2d Louisiana,” Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, June 27, 1863, p. 209: 2-4 ; “Negro Troops,” Harper’s Weekly, June 20, 1863, p. 386: 1-2.)

See images related to this event in the Slideshow below –

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Presentation of Colors to the 20th USCT

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.

(Courtesy of the House Divided Project – “The Fete to the 20th U. S. Colored Infantry,” Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, March 26, 1864, p. 7: 3-4.

Voting Rights and the Grand Review

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.)

(Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Historical Association – Gerald G. Eggert, “”Two Steps Forward, A Step-and-a-Half Back”: Harrisburg’s African American Community in the Nineteenth Century,” Pennsylvania History 58 (January 1991), 1-36.)