The 127th United States Colored Infantry was an American

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

regiment which fought with the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Staffed by

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

enlisted men who were placed under the command of white officers, the regiment was formed and trained at

Camp William Penn Camp William Penn was a Union Army training camp located in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania from 1863 to 1865, notable for being the first training ground dedicated to African American troops who enlisted in the United Army during the Americ ...

near

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

between August 23 and September 10, 1864. Following training, the regiment joined the 10th Corps, within the

Army of the James The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River (Virginia), James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia. Histor ...

, and later took part in some of the final battles of the war including the

Battle of Chaffin's Farm The Battle of Chaffin's Farm and New Market Heights, also known as Laurel Hill and combats at Forts Harrison, Johnson, and Gilmer, was fought in Virginia on September 29–30, 1864, as part of the siege of Petersburg in the American Civil War. ...

, the

Battle of Fair Oaks and Darbytown Road The Battle of Fair Oaks & Darbytown Road (also known as the Second Battle of Fair Oaks) was fought October 27–28, 1864 in Henrico County, Virginia, as part of the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In combination with m ...

and the fighting around the Appomattox Court House. After the war, the regiment undertook occupation duties as part of the 25th Corps in Texas along the Mexican frontier and the

Rio Grande River The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

before its personnel were mustered out in September and October 1865. This regiment's battle flag was one of eleven designed by African American ornamental artist and portraitist

David Bustill Bowser David Bustill Bowser (January 16, 1820, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – June 30, 1900, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was a 19th-century African-American ornamental artist and portraitist. As the designer of battle flags for eleven African-American ...

History

The 127th U.S. Colored Infantry was formed on August 23, 1864, at

, near

. The regiment's enlisted personnel were

s, under the command of white

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

.Bates, Samuel P. ''History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5; Prepared in Compliance with Acts of the Legislature'', Vol. V:
One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh U.S. Colored Regiment
," pp. 1125–1137. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: B. Singerly, State Printer, 1871.
." La Mott, Pennsylvania: Camp William Penn Museum, retrieved online March 9, 2019. Its first central command staff included: Colonel Benjamin F. Tracy, Lieutenant Colonel James Given, Major Arthur M. Greene, Quartermaster John W. Taylor, Surgeon William C. Powell, Assistant Surgeon Eugene A. Chapman, and Chaplain Thomas S. Johnson.Bates, ''History of Pennsylvania Volunteers'', 1861-5, p. 1125. After completing training on September 10, the regiment was ordered to

City Point, Virginia City Point was a town in Prince George County, Virginia, that was annexed by the independent city of Hopewell in 1923. It served as headquarters of the Union Army during the siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War. History 1613-186 ...

. The regiment was attached to the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division of the U.S. Army's 10th Corps (

) until November 1864 when it was transferred to the 10th Corps' 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division. According to historian Samuel P. Bates, during this period of service, this regiment sustained only a single casualty, and that occurred during Union Army actions associated with the

Second Battle of Deep Bottom The Second Battle of Deep Bottom, also known as Fussell's Mill (particularly in the South), New Market Road, Bailey's Creek, Charles City Road, or White's Tavern was fought August 14–20, 1864, at Deep Bottom in Henrico County, Virginia, durin ...

, Virginia and the

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a cla ...

. Other historians have noted, however, that these actions occurred later in the siege, and were related to the

(September 29–30),

(October 13 and October 27–28), trench duties outside of Richmond (until March 1865), operations near Hatcher's Run (March 29–31), and the Appomattox Campaign and Confederate States Army's surrender by Robert E. Lee (April 1865)."127th US Colored Troops," Camp William Penn Museum. According to U.S. National Park Service historians, the 127th U.S. Colored Infantry was one of the Union regiments which "made the journey all the way to Appomattox Court House with Major General Edward Ord's Union Army of the James and arrived in time to be involved in the final fighting.... On the morning of the 9th at Appomattox Court House, the black units were sent forward to support other Federal units in the closing phase of the battle...." Afterward, the 127th was assigned to post-war duties at City Point. In June 1865, the regiment was shipped south to

Brazos Santiago, Texas Brazos Island, also known as Brazos Santiago Island, is a barrier island on the Gulf Coast of Texas in the United States, south of the town of South Padre Island. The island is located in Cameron County. Brazos Santiago Pass partitions the ba ...

, where it was attached to the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, of the U.S. Army's 25th Corps (Department of Texas), and was assigned to duties along the Mexican frontier and

. Following the honorable discharge of a significant number of the 127th's members and the members of other Union infantry units, the remaining infantrymen from the 127th were merged with other Union troops into a three-company-strength battalion on September 11, 1865. On October 20, of that same year, these men were also then honorably mustered out.

Battle flag, uniforms and other equipment

The regiment's battle flag (shown above) was one of 11 designed by African American ornamental artist and portraitist

, and was "one of the first widely viewed, positive images of African Americans painted by an African American," according to historians at the

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage. The commission cares for ...

.Smith, Eric Ledell, "Painted with Pride in the U.S.A.," in ''Pennsylvania Heritage'', Vol. 21, No. 1, pp. 24–31. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation, 2001.

References

External links

*
127th USCT
" in "The Siege of Petersburg Online." Beyond the Crater, retrieved online March 9, 2019. * Diamond, Jane.
Patriots in Pandenarium: An Albemarle Plantation, a Free Pennsylvania Settlement, and the U.S. Colored Troops
(John Allen, James H. Garland, and George W. Lewis of Company A, 127th Regiment United States Colored Troops). Charlottesville, Virginia: John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History, University of Virginia, November 2, 2017. * Pinsker, Matthew and John Osborne, et al.
127th USCT Regiment
" in "Pennsylvania Grand Review," in ''House Divided''. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College, 2010. {{Pennsylvania in the Civil War United States Colored Troops Civil War units and formations Military units and formations established in 1864 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865

History

Battle flag, uniforms and other equipment

See also

References

External links