The American Civil War, waged from 1861 to 1865, is remembered on this date.
Before and during the Civil War, the North and South differed greatly on economic issues. The war was about slavery, but primarily about its economic consequences. The northern elite wanted economic expansion that would change the southern (slave-holding) way of life.
The southern states saw Abraham Lincoln and the Republicans making enormous changes to their way of life using free slave labor. Southerners believed that Abraham Lincoln, if elected, would restrict their rights to own slaves.
learn moreThe first encounter of the Civil War happened on this date in 1861 at the Fairfax Court House in Arlington Mills, Virginia.
The result was that all mail delivery between the US and the Confederacy stopped. The following year, 1862, on the same date, slavery was abolished in all United States possessions.
learn more*On this date, in 1862, the XIX Army Corps was formed. They were a segregated regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War. The XIX Corps spent most of its service in Louisiana and the Gulf, though several units fought in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. It was assigned to Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, the […]
learn more*On this date in 1863, the 1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment (Colored) was formed. General Rufus Saxton formed This Union Army regiment during the American Civil War. It was composed of escaped slaves from South Carolina and Florida. It was one of the first black regiments in the Union Army. Department of the South staff officer James D. Fessenden was heavily involved in efforts […]
learn more*On May 1, 1863, the Corps d’Afrique was mustered into service. This Black Corps served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The Corps d’Afrique was formed from the four infantry regiments of the Louisiana Native Guard raised by Major General Benjamin F. Butler and the five colored infantry regiments raised by Brigadier […]
learn more*This date celebrates the creation of the all-Black Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry in 1863.
Robert Gould Shaw, twenty-six year old member of a prominent Boston abolitionist family, organized the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry in March of that year at Camp Meigs, Readville, and Massachusetts. Shaw had earlier served in the Seventh New York National Guard and the Second Massachusetts Infantry, and was appointed colonel of the Fifty-fourth in February of that year by Massachusetts’s governor John A. Andrew.
learn moreOn this date in 1863 in North Carolina, the United States Department of War established the Bureau of Colored Troops, to help the Union Army fight the Civil War.
Regiments of colored troops from all states of the nation were reorganized into what became known as the United States Colored Troops (USCT).
Blacks have a rich history in United States military, and this was one of the first authorized attempts by the Federal government to enlist former slaves in the defense of the Union. The policy was innovative, new, and controversial with varying degrees of success.
learn more*On this date in 1863, the 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was formed. This was the sister regiment of the Massachusetts 54th Volunteers during the latter half of the American Civil War. The Emancipation Proclamation, enacted by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, opened the way for the enlistment of free men of color and newly liberated slaves to fight […]
learn more*The 2nd United States Colored Cavalry Regiment was organized on this date in 1863. They were a Black military unit that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The 2nd Colored Cavalry Regiment was organized at Fort Monroe, Virginia. Fort Monroe was a critical Union stronghold on the Virginia coast that became […]
learn more*On this date in 1863, the 28th Regiment, United States Colored Troops, was formed. Also called the 28th Regiment, Indiana Infantry (Colored) was a Black combat unit from Indiana that fought in the American Civil War. The United States Department of War authorized Indiana to raise one regiment of infantry composed of Blacks on November 30, 1863. On December 3, the state’s […]
learn more*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 […]
learn more*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 […]
learn more*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 […]
learn more*Charles Young was born on this date in 1864. He was a Black soldier, musician, and writer.
learn more*On this date, in 1864, the construction of Fort Pocahontas began. This was an earthen fort on the north bank of the James River at Wilson’s Wharf in Charles City County, Virginia, which served as a Union supply depot during the American Civil War. The fort was constructed by Black soldiers of the United States Colored […]
learn more