People, Locations, Episodes

The 5th Regiment Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Cavalry is Formed.

*On this date in 1864, the 5th Regiment Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Cavalry was formed. This cavalry regiment from Massachusetts served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was organized at Camp Meigs, Readville. From May 12, 1864, it served dismounted and equipped as infantry until the war’s end. The regiment fought […]

The 26th United States Colored Infantry is Formed

*The 26th United States Colored Infantry was created on this date in 1864. Also called the 26th New York Infantry, it was a Black infantry regiment, one of three colored troop units from the state of New York, that fought in the American Civil War. The Union League Club of New York organized the unit on […]

The 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry Regiment is Formed

*The 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry Regiment was organized on this date in 1864.  This infantry regiment served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry Regiment was organized at Fair Haven, Connecticut, and mustered under the command of Colonel William B. Wooster. Over 1,200 volunteers were recruited, exceeding the […]

Charles Young, Military Officer born

*Charles Young was born on this date in 1864. He was a Black soldier, musician, and writer.

Edward Baker, Congressional Medal of Honoree born

Edward Lee Baker, Jr., an African American soldier, was born on this date in 1865.

Born in Platte River, WY, he enlisted in the Army in Cincinnati, OH, in 1882. Baker served with both the 9th and 10th U.S. Cavalry, attaining the rank of Sergeant Major in 1892. Baker saw combat in the Spanish-American War where he earned a Congressional Medal of Honor for braving heavy fire. He saved the life of a comrade during the assault on San Juan Hill on July 1, 1898, in Santiago, Cuba.

Robert Kerlin, Minister, and Soldier born

*Robert Kerlin was born on this date in 1866.  He was a white-American minister, author, soldier, and activist.  From Harrison County, MO., Robert Thomas Kerlin’s parents were from Kentucky and were owners of several small farms.  They raised and sold Berkshire Hog and Southdown Sheep.  Confederate properties were seized due to the American Civil War, […]

Walter Loving, Military Investigator, and Bandleader born

*Walter Loving was born on this date in 1872. He was an African American soldier and musician most noted for his leadership of the Philippine Constabulary Band.

The Zulu-British War Begins

On this date in 1879 the Zulu-British War began.

The Zulu kingdom, centered on the southeast coast of southern Africa between the Drakensburg Mountains and the Indian Ocean, surfaced in the early 19th century under the command of the great Zulu warrior-king Shaka. The Zulu nation in the beginning had no problem with the British, who founded it as the colony Natal, on the southern border of Zululand in the 1840s. But the British eventually saw the Zulu as a threat.

The 231st Transportation Battalion is formed

*On this date in 1879, 231st Transportation Battalion was formed. The Armed Forces and National Guard 231st Transportation Battalion began as a Black independent militia company in Baltimore, Maryland. These city militia companies were patriotic social clubs that competed in military drills. At that time, all black military clubs comprised Black officers and enlisted men. […]

Dorsie Willis, Solider born

*Dorsie Willis was born on this date in 1886. He was an African American soldier, and activist.

Hugh Mulzac, Merchant Marine Captain born

*Hugh Mulzac was born on this date in 1886. He was an African American merchant marine Captain.

From Union Island, St. Vincent Island Group, British West Indies, Mulzac entered the Swansea Nautical College in South Wales to prepare for a seaman’s career while in his youth. He became an American citizen in 1918, and continued his instruction at the Shipping Board in New York. He earned his captain’s rating in the merchant marines that same year, but racism denied him the right to command a ship.

Charles Howard Sr., Soldier, and Attorney born

*The birth of Charles P. Howard Sr. in 1890 is celebrated on this date. He was an African American soldier, attorney, and columnist.

He was born in Des Moines and graduated from the Fort Des Moines officer-candidate school in 1917. One year later he was a second lieutenant and serving with the 92nd Division, 366th Infantry in France during World War I. After the military, Howard received his law degree from Drake University in 1920. He was a gifted lawyer who never lost a capital trial.

Moses Hardy Farmer and Soldier born

*Moses Hardy was born on this date in 1894. He was a Black farmer and soldier. Hardy was born in Aberdeen, Mississippi. His parents, Morris Hardy and Nancy Hardy, were former slaves. After the American Civil War, his parents purchased 265 acres of land in Mississippi from a Chickasaw Native American for a dollar. The […]

Aaron Fisher, Soldier born.

*Aaron Fisher was born on this date in 1895. He was a Black WW I soldier. He served over thirty years in the U.S. Army and received several military awards. Aaron Richard Fisher was born in the Lyles Station community in Gibson County, Indiana. He was the son of Macy Octiva (Barnhill) and Benjamin F. […]

Freddie Stowers, Soldier born

*Freddie Stowers was born on this date in 1896. He was a Black corporal in the United States Army. Stowers was born in Sandy Springs, South Carolina, and was the grandson of slaves. As a young adult, he worked as a farmhand and married a woman named Pearl, with whom he had one daughter, Minnie […]