The 19th United States Colored Infantry was an

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 A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

that served in 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 ...

. The regiment was composed of

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, mostly from southern

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and that state's Eastern Shore. Commanded by white officers, it was authorized by the

Bureau of Colored Troops The Bureau of Colored Troops was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863, under General Order No. 143, during the American Civil War, Civil War, to handle "all matters relating to the organization of colored troops." Major Char ...

which was created by the

United States War Department The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...

on May 22, 1863.

Service

The 19th U.S. Colored Infantry was organized at Camp Stanton in

Benedict Benedict may refer to: People Names *Benedict (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Benedict (surname), including a list of people with the surname Religious figures * Pope Benedict I (died 579), head of the Catholic Chu ...

beginning December 25, 1863 and mustered in for three-year service under the command of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Henry Goddard Thomas. The regiment was attached to 2nd Brigade, 4th Division,

IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to: France * 9th Army Corps (France) * IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial Germ ...

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...

, April to September 1864. 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, IX Corps, to December 1864. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, XXV Corps, to January 1865. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, XXV Corps, to January 1866.

Department of Texas The Department of Texas was a military department of the United States Army that existed from 1850 to 1861, and again from 1865 to 1866, from 1870 to 1913 and during the First World War. It was subordinate to the Military Division of the Missouri. ...

, to January 1867. Initially posted to provost (guard) duty in

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, beginning on March 1, 1864, they were described as having "great proficiency in discipline and drill" and praised for their "bearing and military qualities", despite the prejudice of the times against "colored troops". The next month, they were ordered to join the

under the command of Gen.

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

in the

Overland Campaign The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union ...

. Following skirmishes en route, the 19th Regiment engaged in their first major combat on May 6, 1864, at the

Battle of the Wilderness The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Arm ...

. They later participated in 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 ...

, and sustained heavy casualties. Praised for their "conspicuous gallantry", the victorious African-American Marylanders were among the first Union troops to enter

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, when the Confederate capital fell in April, 1865.

Detailed service

Duty at Camp Stanton, Benedict, Md., until March 1864, and at Camp Birney until April, after which they were in the Campaign from the Rapidan to the James River, Va., May and June 1864. Guarded trains through the Wilderness. Before Petersburg, Va., June 15–18. Siege operations against Petersburg and Richmond, Va., June 16, 1864 to April 2, 1865. Mine Explosion, Petersburg, July 30, 1864. Weldon Railroad August 18–21. Fort Sedgwick September 28. Poplar Grove Church September 29–30. Hatcher's Run October 27–28. Actions on the Bermuda Hundred front November 17–18. Duty at

Bermuda Hundred Bermuda Hundred was the first administrative division in the English colony of Virginia. It was founded by Sir Thomas Dale in 1613, six years after Jamestown. At the southwestern edge of the confluence of the Appomattox and James Rivers oppos ...

until March 1865. Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9. Hatcher's Run March 29–31. Assault and capture of Petersburg April 2. Pursuit of Lee April 3–9. Appomattox Court House April 9. Surrender of Lee and his army. Duty at Petersburg and City Point until June. Moved to Texas June 13-July 3. Duty at Brownsville and on the Rio Grande River in Texas, until January 1867. The 19th U.S. Colored Infantry mustered out of service January 15, 1867.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 294 men during service; 3 officers and 47 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, one officer and 243 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Colonel Henry Goddard Thomas * Colonel Joseph G. Perkins *

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

William Welsh

Notes

References