The 116th United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment of the United States Colored Troops serving in the Union Army organization made up of African-American troops and white officers during the American Civil War.
The 116th Regiment, U.S.C.T. was organized at Camp Nelson, Kentucky from June 6 to July 12, 1864.
From July until September 1864, the regiment was attached to the Military District of Kentucky, Department of the Ohio.
The 116th was attached to the X Corps, Army of the James until November 1864. From November to December of that year, the regiment was part of 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, X Corps.
From December 1864 to April 1865, the regiment was assigned to 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, XXV Corps.
The regiment was part of 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, XXV Corps and the Department of Texas until September 1866, when it became part of the Department of the Gulf, a relationship that was maintained until the regiment was mustered out in January 1867.
The 116th Colored Troops remained on duty at Camp Nelson until September 1864, and took part in the defense of Camp Nelson and Hickman's Bridge during an attack by troops under the command of Nathan Bedford Forrest.
From September to October 1864, the regiment joined the Army of the James at City Point, Virginia.
Beginning in October 1864, the 116th Regiment took part in the Sieges of Petersburg and Richmond, where it remained until April 1865. During this period the regiment took part in several engagements, including:
After Lee's surrender, the 116th Regiment remained on duty at Petersburg until May 25, when it embarked at City Point, Virginia for transport to Texas. Upon arriving in June the regiment assumed duty in the southern part of the state as part of General Philip H. Sheridan's army of occupation, serving in posts including Ringgold Barracks at Rio Grande City.
In September 1866 the 116th U.S.C.T. moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, where it remained on duty until January 1867
The 116th United States Colored Infantry Regiment was mustered out in Louisville, Kentucky on January 17, 1867.
United States Colored Troops (USCT) were Union Army regiments during the American Civil War that primarily comprised African Americans, with soldiers from other ethnic groups also serving in USCT units. Established in response to a demand for more units from Union Army commanders, USCT regiments, which numbered 175 in total by the end of the war in 1865, constituted about one-tenth of the manpower of the army, according to historian Kelly Mezurek, author of For Their Own Cause: The 27th United States Colored Troops. "They served in infantry, artillery, and cavalry." Approximately 20 percent of USCT soldiers were killed in action or died of disease and other causes, a rate about 35 percent higher than that of white Union troops. Numerous USCT soldiers fought with distinction, with 16 receiving the Medal of Honor. The USCT regiments were precursors to the Buffalo Soldier units which fought in the American Indian Wars.
The 28th United States Colored Infantry, also called the 28th Indiana Infantry (Colored),1 was an African American infantry regiment from the state of Indiana that fought in the American Civil War.
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