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 106th United States Colored Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment of the United States Colored Troops, formed during the American Civil War. It was organized as the 4th Alabama Volunteer Infantry Regiment (African Descent) in late March 1864, and redesignated as the 106th United States Colored Infantry in May. The regiment spent its service on garrison duty at Pulaski, Tennessee, guarding railroads. It was consolidated into the 40th United States Colored Infantry Regiment in November 1865.
The 102nd United States Colored Infantry was an African American infantry regiment of United States Colored Troops in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was organized as the 1st Michigan Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment before being redesignated as the 102nd Regiment USCT.
The 6th United States Colored Infantry Regiment was an African American unit of the Union Army during the American Civil War. A part of the United States Colored Troops, the regiment saw action in Virginia as part of the Richmond–Petersburg Campaign and in North Carolina, where it participated in the attacks on Fort Fisher and Wilmington and the Carolinas Campaign.
The 2nd South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment (Colored) was an African-American infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was among the scores of units raised starting in the middle of the war to augment Federal troop strength by tapping into the large Southern population of former slaves. Harriet Tubman, lead the regiment in the Raid at Combahee Ferry in which roughly 800 slaves were freed. It gained notoriety among certain quarters for its actions during the controversial looting and burning of the pro-Confederate town of Darien, Georgia. This operation was part of the Union strategy to damage the Confederate states' ability to supply food and materials towards their war effort.
The 9th Louisiana Infantry (African Descent), later reorganized as 1st Mississippi Colored Heavy Artillery and then renamed 5th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery, was an African-American regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It famously fought in the Battle of Milliken's Bend; one of the earliest Civil War battles with African-American troops involved.
The 17th Alabama Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.
The 21st United States Colored Infantry Regiment was a U.S.C.T. infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was organized from the 3rd South Carolina Infantry and the 4th South Carolina Infantry in March 1864 under the command of Col. Milton S. Littlefield. It served in South Carolina and Georgia until the end of the war; it was mustered out in October 1866.
The 34th United States Colored Infantry was a U.S.C.T. infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was re-organized from the 2nd South Carolina Infantry in February 1864. It was assigned to various posts in Florida and South Carolina, and took part in the Battle of Honey Hill in November 1864. It was mustered out on February 28, 1866.
The 48th United States Colored Infantry Regiment was a U.S.C.T. infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was organized from the 10th Louisiana Infantry in March 1864 and fought in the Gulf Coast areas as part of the Department of the Gulf. It participated in the Battle of Fort Blakely in April 1865, after which it served in various garrison roles in Texas until it was mustered out on January 4, 1866. During its time of service the regiment lost three officers and 59 enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and one officer and 464 enlisted men died of disease, for a total of 527.
The 18th United States Colored Infantry Regiment was an African-American infantry regiment, raised in the state of Missouri, which served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 56th United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863. The regiment was originally organized as the 3rd Arkansas Volunteer Infantry (African Descent) on May 22, 1863.
Benjamin Franklin Randolph was an American educator, spiritual advisor, newspaper editor who served as a South Carolina state senator during the Reconstruction Era. Randolph was selected to be one of the first African American Electors in the United States at the 1868 Republican National Convention for the Ulysses Grant Republican presidential ticket. Randolph also served as the chair of the state Republican Party Central Committee. He was a delegate to the 1868 South Carolina Constitutional Convention, where he played an important role in establishing the first universal public education system in the state, and in granting for the first time the right to vote to black men and non-property owning European-American men. On October 16, 1868, Randolph was assassinated by members of the Ku Klux Klan.
The 1st United States Colored Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863.
The 10th United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863.
The 20th United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863.
The 53rd United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Originally formed as the 3rd Regiment Mississippi Volunteers (African Descent), the regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers. The 53rd served on garrison duty in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas before being mustered out of service in 1866.
Charles Tyler Trowbridge was an American politician from New York. He was the first organizer and commander of black soldiers in the American Civil War.
Nelson B. Bartram was a teacher, official, and colonel in the U.S. Army who commanded United States Colored Troops during the American Civil War. The Library of Congress has a glass negative photograph of him.
