| 45th United States Colored Infantry Regiment | |
|---|---|
 Battle flag, 45th U.S. Colored Infantry, 1863 | |
| Active | July 1864 - December 13, 1865 |
| Country | United States |
| Allegiance | Union |
| Branch | Infantry |
| Engagements | American Civil War |
The 45th United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The regiment was formed in 1864, and was composed of men who had been born as free men and others who had been formerly enslaved, but had been freed prior to their enlistment with the Union Army and the USCT. The primary states of residence of the men who fought with this regiment were New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. [1]
The regiment's flag was designed by David Bustill Bowser and shows an image depicting an African American soldier, representing the 45th United States Colored Troops, standing next to a bust statue of George Washington. [2]
Ulysses Doubleday, Colonel; Edward Thorn, Lieutenant Colonel; James T. Bates, Major; Lindley Coates Kent, First Lieutenant, then captain, and acting adjutant of the 45th., [3] [Edelmiro Mayer].
Formed at Camp William Penn, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 1864. [4] "45th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry. Organized at Philadelphia, Pa., June 13 to August 19, 1864. Moved to Washington, D. C. (4 Cos.), July, 1864. Attached to Provisional Brigade, Casey's Division, 22nd Corps, and garrison duty at Arlington Heights, Va., till March, 1865. Rejoined Regiment at Chaffin's Farm, Va., March 14, 1865. Six Companies moved to City Point, Va., September 20, 1864. Attached to 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 10th Corps, Army of the James, to December, 1864. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 25th Corps, and Dept. of Texas, to November, 1865. SERVICE: Demonstration on north side of the James River and battle of Chaffin's Farm, New Market Heights, September 28–30, 1864. Fort Harrison September 29. Darbytown Road October 13. Battle of Fair Oaks October 27–28. In trenches before Richmond till March, 1865. Moved to Hatcher's Run March 27–28. Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9. Hatcher's Run March 29–31. Fall 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 till May. Moved to Texas May and June. Duty at Edinburg on Mexican Frontier till September 8, and at Brownsville, Texas, till November. Mustered out November 4, 1865." [5]
The difficulties of the regiment during the Red River Campaign were described by Private Pleasant Richardson's descendants: "He served with the 45th Infantry of the U.S. Colored Troops, a posting that took him to West Virginia and Pennsylvania, then Washington, D.C., and in the spring of 1864, he was one of 30,000 Union soldiers who undertook the ill-fated Red River Campaign across Louisiana. Roughly one in five men on the Union side died during that expedition, but Richardson survived and the following year he was present when Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, according to a 1935 article in the Fincastle Herald." [6]
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.
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Ulysses Doubleday was a Union Army colonel during the American Civil War. In 1866 he was nominated and confirmed for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers, to rank from March 13, 1865.
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Joseph Barr Kiddoo was a Union Army officer in the American Civil War and assistant commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau in Texas in 1866 and 1867.
Nathan Goff, Jr. was a Union Army officer from Rhode Island during the American Civil War.
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