Wilderness Battlefield - African American Presence


At the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864, United States Colored Troops escorted Confederate prisoners to the rear. (Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, June 4, 1864)

Wilderness Battlefield
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After the Emancipation Proclamation took effect in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln announced that he would allow free black men to enlist in the Union Army. They served in segregated regiments officially designated United States Colored Troops (USCT). Some regiments were assigned to the Army of the Potomac and participated in General Grant’s Virginia Overland Campaign in spring of 1864—the last major initiative of the Civil War. Two brigades in the Fourth Division led by General Edward Ferrero—part of the Ninth Corps commanded by General Ambrose Burnside—participated at the Battle of the Wilderness. Joshua K. Sigfried commanded the 27th, 30th, 39th, and 43rd USCT regiments, while Henry G. Thomas commanded the 19th, 23rd, and part of the 31st. Being newly organized, they performed rear guard duties such as protecting the numerous and crucial supply wagons and guarding prisoners. After the action at the “Mule-Shoe” Salient on May 14th, for example, Ferrero’s Division guarded Confederate prisoners including General Edward “Allegheny” Johnson and General George H. Steuart.

On May 4, 1864, as the army crossed the Rapidan River into Spotsylvania County, the Confederate Army’s 9th Virginia Cavalry skirmished along the rear and captured some Union stragglers. One Confederate cavalryman wrote of some black soldiers they captured, “it is needless for me to say what became of them.” Another reported “they were taken out on the road and shot, & their bodies left there.” At least one black P.O.W. was taken with white prisoners to the Orange County Courthouse, but once there he was summarily hanged.

Members of the 23rd USCT regiment faced combat in Spotsylvania County. On May 15, 1864, they were called to support the 2nd Ohio Cavalry, which had fallen back after a Confederate assault. They attacked and routed the dismounted Confederate Cavalry. On May 17th, near Old Salem Church, the 23rd regiment repulsed a Confederate attempt to break their lines. While northern and southern whites had formerly expressed doubts about black soldiers’ ability to fight effectively, these and many other engagements—such as the assault on Fort Wagner—laid such suspicions to rest. Approximately ten percent of the Union Army during the Civil War was of African descent—approximately 180,000 men in 163 units.

Resources

Central Rappahannock Regional Library, “African American History of Spotsylvania, Virginia.” In HistoryPoint.org. www.historypoint.org/af_am_spotsylvania.asp

James K. Bryant II. “‘…That Sable Hero’: African-Americans in the Fredericksburg-Area Battlefields,” The Journal of Fredericksburg History 7 (2003): 37-54.

Wikipedia. “United States Colored Troops.” Available online at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Colored_Troops