Newspaper Article Listing Black Union Soldiers Found in Freedmen's Bureau Papers

In July 1867, the Bureau of Refugees, Freedman and Abandoned Lands also known as the Freedmen's Bureau, served communities in several fields offices in the state of Tennessee. In records from McMinnville Freedmen's Bureau office, it was a surprise to stumble upon a fascinating article from a daily newspaper from Nashville Tennessee, that had been clipped and put among bureau papers.

The Nashville Union and Dispatch was a daily publication, and the names of several dozen soldiers who served in the United States Colored Troops who were owed pay for their service was noted. If the soldier who enlisted did not survive the war, their widow, or heirs were called to step forward and make their claim.

Most documents from the Freedmen's Bureau itself are usually original hand written articles reflecting day to day business of the various offices. They often contain contracts, letters, complaints, marriage records and so much more. The notations are made by the staff that worked in the Bureau itself. What a surprise to find a clipping from the Nashville newspaper included among the papers from the McMinnville Tennessee field office.

The edition came from the July 6th issue of the Nashville Union and Dispatch. I was able to locate the exact edition from which the article was clipped. The notice appeared on page 2 of that edition, and the entire edition of the publication is contained on the Chronicling America site hosted by the Library of Congress.

Zooming in on the article for a much closer view, the names of the soldiers and qualifying widows are more visible and more easily read. I was impressed to see a list of names of black Union Army soldiers in the Nashville publication and found it surprising to have stumbled upon it among Freedmen's Bureau papers.

An Unexpected Surprise
A second surprise came when glancing through the list of names and finding the name of an ancestor, a great great uncle--my great grandfather's brother, Braxton Bass! Braxton Bass was also a brother of my Uncle Sephus Bass, who both served in the 111th US Colored Infantry, and to see Uncle Braxton's name among the soldiers listed was unexpected, and quite pleasing.

I have known for over 20 years about Braxton's service with the 111th US Colored Infantry, and I have had for many years both his Civil War Service Record, and his Civil War Pension File. I know about his life in the 1870s till his early death in 1879, and I also know details of the life of his widow Fannie.

But his years right after the the war are not known, and it was truly a surprise to see something from 1867 mentioning his name. Although not much more than a name appears, it still tells me that he was called to get his bounty payment 2 years after the war had ended, and that tiny piece of information reflects a small sliver of detail about him and his life near Nashville.

One of the many benefits of the Freedmen's Bureau records, is the fact that unique records are contained in the amazing collection. A newspaper article is one of the most unexpected holdings to find among the many gems of the bureau, but thankfully, the Bureau staff in McMinnville Tennessee included the names of the soldiers from the Nashville publication. It was noted by the staff that some of the men were actually from that community, therefore, the article was clipped and placed among bureau holdings.

Close Up of News Clipping Found in Article

Source for entire image:

Link HERE

I checked several additional names from the list, on the Civil War database hosted by the National Park Service. Some of the men were from the same unit that my Bass ancestors were part of, (the 111th US Colored Infantry) and I noticed others were from the 13th US Colored Infantry. I have not checked the entire roster, but those with Tennessee based ancestors may find their own ancestors listed among those in the above clipping.

The post Civil War years were challenging for people of color, and often those who had served in the Union Army were met with hostility by a former confederate sympathizing community. However seeing the article two years after the war, does speak to a small degree of tolerance that may have been for these former freedom fighters to at least come forth and claim the bounty that they had earned with their service and with their courage.

Other Civil War historians are encouraged to utilize as many resources as possible to find data on former soldiers. In this case, a small clipping from a Freedmen's Bureau field office directed me to a newspaper, where a small piece of community history reflected US Colored troops in the Nashville Community.

As researchers we have learned to leave no stones unturned.

The USCT Chronicle --150 Years Later Getting the Story Right!

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This is 2011, and the year that marks the 150th Anniversary of the Beginning of the Civil War.

It would be two years before the establishment of the United States Colored Troops, however, by researching my own ancestors I found incredible stories that centered around the Civil War, so the war in its entirety--from its beginning in 1861 is important. In addition, it is time to tell the story, and to quote a genealogist whom I respect---to get the story right!  Well, part of getting that story right----is this fact, the Civil War took place, because the freedom of a race was at stake. 

From the perspective of those who were enslaved----there was no other issue except freedom.  Some speak about the war being over a concept of "state's rights."  The enslaved had NO rights--so state's rights had no meaning to them.  But freedom meant everything!!! And for my ancestors that was the purpose and it was the result. To state otherwise is to malign the intelligence of a people, the integrity of an oppressed people, and to deny that they possessed the simplest aspect of their to live freely and with dignity.

When the war ended---my ancestors became free.  My own ancestors had a role, in that war as soldiers, as civilians and those who remained enslaved during the war years, they were affected by the war, and their freedom resulted from that war.

Most importantly-----there are STORIES that came from that war!  That is why I have created this blog --as  a platform to tell those stories.

In the past 20 years, I have documented 9 ancestors who served in the Union Army with the United States Colored Troops. I have identified others who were simply survivors of the war, of the era, and of the times.

Among some of those stories:

I learned and wrote about the story of my gr. gr. uncle, Sephus Bass of Giles County Tennessee, a soldier who enlisted in the 111th US Colored Infantry, and who survived, slavery, mustered into the Union Army, was captured by Nathan Bedford Forrest. More remarkably he and his brother and his two sons  escaped and later rejoined his regiment when they re-organized in Nashville.

I learned the story of my ancestor Lydia, a woman in Crawford County, Arkansas, who married John Talkington, who had joined the 2nd Kansas Colored Infantry, that was later re-designated as the 83rd US Colored Infantry.  John would die in the battle of Jenkins Ferry, but Lydia lived to tell her story, of life as a slave, her marriage to John, and I was fortunate to read her words and others who spoke in detail about her life before and after Freedom.

Lydia Talkington

I learned of another ancestor Amanda Young, of Ripley Mississippi, whose husband and son joined the US Colored troops, and whose father was one of the civilians that followed the troops when the Union soldiers raided Tippah County. I thank God for that raid!!!!

Following the Union Army when the raid came through the area, meant freedom at last! Though my Amanda lost all of the 3 men in her life that were so dear, I also learned how she found her sister, after 50 years of separation---a sister who spoke about life in the Contraband Camp at President's Island, when the fleeing slaves left Tippah in search for Freedom. I was amazed to see how this woman had the courage to remarry and find family life again. From that research, I found new cousins in the Barrs, and Reeds.

Ironically, if you go to a search engine like Google, and search for Tippah County, Civil War---the only thing you find is info on soldiers in the confederate army. Amanda's family is not reflected (yet!). Nothings exists to tell the stories of the hundreds of black soldiers who enlisted in the Union Army from the same area!  These are stories of men who had previously been enslaved and who seized their own freedom the moment the chance came. Thankfully, I have found some of them, and have learned some of their stories, and one of my goals is to tell some of the missing stories of the Black Union Soldiers from Tippah County Mississippi, from Giles County Tennessee, from the states west of the Mississippi, Arkansas, Kansas, and Indian Territory.

I also want to tell the stories of those refugee slaves who had the courage to flee from the people who held them once in bondage, to the contraband camps to breathe free air!  These were people who lived in different states and counties and who were enslaved with different circumstances affecting their lives.

They all had heartbreaking losses that slavery brought to millions of people--but they also survived, against the odds.  I want to tell some of those stories

So-----this blog begins!!!!  Join me on this journey to document those untold stories and to get the story right!!!