Dobak William A. Freedom by the Sword: The U.S. Colored Troops, 1862-1867 (ENG)

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FREEDOM BY THE SWORD

THE U.S. COLORED TROOPS, 1862–1867

FERRO IIS LIBERTAS PERVENIET (“Freedom attained by the sword”)

Inscription on medal struck for black soldiers in the Army of the James, 1864

ARMY HISTORICAL SERIES

FREEDOM BY THE SWORD

THE U.S. COLORED TROOPS, 1862–1867

William A. Dobak

CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY

UNITED STATES ARMY

WASHINGTON, D.C., 2011

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Dobak, William A., 1943–

Freedom by the sword : the U.S. Colored Troops, 1862–1867 / by William A.

Dobak.

p. cm. — (Army historical series)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. United States. Colored Troops. 2. United States. Army—African American

troops—History—19th century. 3. United States—History—Civil War, 1861–

1865—Participation, African American. 4. African American soldiers—History—

19th century. I. Title.

E492.9.D63 2011

973.7’415—dc22

2011000365

First Printing—CMH Pub 30–24–1

ARMY HISTORICAL SERIES

Richard W. Stewart, General Editor

Advisory Committee

(As of December 2010)

Reina J. Pennington

Norwich University

William T. Allison

Georgia Southern University

James J. Carafano

The Heritage Foundation

Lt. Gen. Robert L. Caslen Jr.

U.S. Army Combined Arms Center

Brig. Gen. Timothy Trainor

U.S. Military Academy

John F. Guilmartin Jr.

Ohio State University

Brig. Gen. Sean B. MacFarland

U.S. Army Command and

General Staff College

Michael S. Neiberg

University of Southern Mississippi

Mark P. Parillo

Kansas State University

Lt. Gen. John E. Sterling Jr.

U.S. Army Training

and

Doctrine Command

Gerald B. O’Keefe

Deputy Administrative Assistant

to the

Secretary of the Army

Steve Vogel

Washington Post

Paul M. Wester Jr.

National Archives and Records Administration

U.S. Army Center of Military History

Col. Peter D. Crean, Acting Director

Col. Bobby A. Towery

U.S. Army War College

Chief Historian Richard W. Stewart

Chief, Histories Division Joel D. Meyerson

Acting Chief, Publishing Division Beth F. MacKenzie

vii

Page

FOREWORD

.................................................. xi

THE AUTHOR

................................................. xii

PREFACE

..................................................... xiii

Chapter

1. Mustering In—Federal Policy on Emancipation and Recruitment ...... 1

2. The South Atlantic Coast, 1861–1863 ............................ 25

3. The South Atlantic Coast, 1863–1865 ............................ 59

4. Southern Louisiana and the Gulf Coast, 1862–1863 ................. 89

5. Southern Louisiana and the Gulf Coast, 1863–1865 ................. 121

6. The Mississippi River and Its Tributaries, 1861–1863 ................ 155

7. Along the Mississippi River, 1863–1865 .......................... 189

8. Arkansas, Indian Territory, and Kansas, 1863–1865 ................. 229

9. Middle Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia, 1863–1865 ............... 259

10. North Carolina and Virginia, 1861–1864 .......................... 299

11. Virginia, May–October 1864 ................................... 335

12. Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia, 1864–1865 ................. 381

13. South Texas, 1864–1867 ....................................... 425

14. Reconstruction, 1865–1867 .................................... 455

15. Conclusion ................................................. 497

Bibliographical Note

............................................. 507

Abbreviations

.................................................. 533

Index

......................................................... 537

Tables

No.

1. Black Regiments Organized by General Thomas, May–December 1863 ..... 179

2. XXV Corps Order of Battle, 3 December 1864 ...................... 402

3. XXV Corps in the Appomattox Campaign, 27 March–9 April 1865 ...... 414

4. General Weitzel’s Ranking of Regiments in XXV Corps, November 1865 ... 445

5. Muster-Out Dates of Black Regiments ............................ 474

Maps

1. South Atlantic Coast, 1861–1865 ................................ 24

2. The Gulf Coast, 1861–1865 .................................... 90

3. Mississippi River and Its Tributaries, 1861–1863 ................... 156

Contents

viii

No. Page

4. Along the Mississippi River, 1861–1865 .......................... 190

5. West of the Mississippi River, 1863–1865 ......................... 228

6. Tennessee and Alabama, 1861–1865 ............................. 258

7. North Carolina and Virginia, 1861–1864 .......................... 298

8. Virginia, 1864–1865 .......................................... 336

9. South Texas, 1864–1867 ....................................... 426

10. Reconstruction, 1865–1867 .................................... 456

Illustrations

Inscription on medal struck for black soldiers in the Army of the

James, 1864

.......................................... Frontispiece

Union depot at City Point, Virginia ................................. 2

Slaves building a Confederate battery

................................ 4

Pvt. Hubbard Pryor

.............................................. 12

Market scene at Beaufort, South Carolina

............................ 27

Members of Company A, 1st South Carolina, take the oath at Beaufort

..... 33

Cypress swamp on Port Royal Island, South Carolina

................... 35

Brig. Gen. Rufus Saxton’s headquarters at Beaufort

.................... 38

Col. James Montgomery’s raid up the Combahee River

................. 46

Bird’s eye view of Charleston Harbor

............................... 48

Capt. John W. M. Appleton as a private in the Massachusetts militia and as

an ofcer of the 54th Massachusetts

.............................. 50

Sgt. Maj. Lewis Douglass

......................................... 53

Men of the 54th Massachusetts and the 1st New York Engineers in a

trench on James Island, Charleston Harbor

......................... 56

Men of the 54th Massachusetts at Fort Wagner

........................ 60

An encounter between Confederates and the 1st South Carolina

........... 62

Col. James C. Beecher

........................................... 71

Ofcers and men of the 29th Connecticut

............................ 73

James M. Trotter as a second lieutenant

.............................. 77

Typical country road throughout the South

........................... 81

Ruins of Charleston after the Confederate evacuation

................... 84

Col. Nathan W. Daniels

.......................................... 101

Port Hudson

................................................... 105

The Louisiana Native Guards’ assault on Port Hudson

.................. 107

Fort Jackson, Louisiana

.......................................... 114

Soldiers from one of the Corps d’Afrique engineer regiments

............ 118

The Red River Expedition

........................................ 125

The Red River Dam and Alexandria, Louisiana

........................ 126

Morganza, Louisiana

............................................ 130

Col. Hiram Scoeld

............................................. 146

A patrol tries to thwart a suspected escape to Union lines

................ 163

Union troops occupied Lake Providence, Louisiana

.................... 170