Remember Poison Springs

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150 years ago today the 1st Kansas Colored which was re-designated as the 79th US Colored Infantry was engaged in battle at Poison Springs, in Ouachita County Arkansas. They are remembered again on this day.


On April 18, 1864 the battle of Poison Springs occurred. This took place in Ouachita and was part of the Camden Expedition.

The actual engagement was short and confederate forces were able to drive Union soldiers away, and chased them in pursuit. But after a pursuit of only about two miles the southern soldiers stopped the pursuit and returned to address the wounded left behind. That was when the second heinous tragedy of April 1864, took place. Many men of the 1st Kansas Colored now were lying wounded on the ground. At this time, fighting had ceased and that was when, as they lay wounded, they were brutally murdered by southern forces.

Tandy Walker who led southern forces at Poison Springs

Three  years ago I also wrote an article about this same battle here on this blog.

These men, were mostly men from Indian Territory who had fled into Kansas in the early part of the war. They were the first men of color to see action in 1862 at Island Mound Missouri. And they were now at the mercy of their captors, But their captors would not take on that role for they saw these now free men, simply as useless commodities to eliminate. Therefore in a matter of days after the same kind of massacre at Ft. Pillow---these courageous men, unable now to defend themselves were shot, bayoneted and tortured, then left on the ground where they died. Only a week before in Tennessee, the enemy had vowed to give men at Ft. Pillow no quarter, and the same occurred in Arkansas on that fatefu day.

Those freedom fighters were given no quarter, and in this case, they also were given no life. This tragic story of the massacre at Poison Springs is another of those stories not simply of war, but of man's inability to see humanity in others who are different. In this case, these soldiers of color were not seen as worthy of humane treatment by their enemies.

This second massacre would not be forgotten. Before the month would end, some of the compatriots of these massacred warriors would make Poison Springs their battle cry, at Jenkins Ferry. In fact many black soldiers from that day forward would remind each other of their mission as they fought for their freedom. Their battle cry would be heard and remembered for generations. "Remember Poison Springs!"

I remember the soldiers killed at Poison Springs on this day the 150th anniversary of that fateful day.

They did not die in vain.

Their sacrifice is not forgotten.

And they are remembered forever.

Remember Poison Springs!

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Ft. Pillow Massacre

As I recommended in the previous article here are additional readings about the massacres such as Poison Springs, Ft. Pillow and others.

Urwin, Gregory J. W. “‘We Cannot Treat Negroes… as Prisoners of War’”: Racial Atrocities and Reprisals in Civil War Arkansas.” In Civil War Arkansas: Beyond Battles and Leaders, edited by Anne Bailey and Daniel Sutherland. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1999]

A Sesquicentennial Year: Battles Involving US Colored Troops in Arkansas 1864

Soldiers of the 57th US Colored Infantry at a Reunion after the War.

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In 1864 a large number of regiments were organized throughout the country, including Arkansas. Six regiments were organized within Arkansas, but other regiments organized in other states would find themselves fighting for freedom within the state.

This year, marks the 150th anniversary of many of the battles and skirmishes in which Arkansas black soldiers fought, and in honor of their efforts they are listed here.

There were 11 different regiments that fought in battles on Arkansas soil during the year 1864. Two of the regiments were originally organized as the 1st and 2nd Kansas Colored Infantries. They would be among the first Black Union soldiers to engage the enemy in battle as early as 1862. In late 1863 they were re-designated as the 79th and 83rd US Colored Infantries. The Kansas Colored fought in Island Mound Illionois a year before the US Colored Troops were established.  

Several of the Arkansas battles that involved Black soldiers were truly noteworthy such as Poison Springs, in which many wounded black men were massacred by Confederate soldiers after they lay wounded on the ground. As the Confederate Army was committed to giving "no Negro any quarters" and after the vicious massacre of the injured men occurred, Poison Springs would later become the battle cry of Arkansas black soldiers. 

It should be noted that within one week's time---two major massacres of Black soldiers occurred in the Civil War. The infamous Ft. Pillow massacre occurred in Tennessee on April 12th of 1864. In that case after being outnumbered and surrendering---confederate soldiers chose not to see the humanity of the black soldiers and brutally killed hundreds who had surrendered. Historian Richard Fuchs described the outrage at Ft. Pillow, “The affair at Fort Pillow was simply an orgy of death, a mass lynching to satisfy the basest of conduct – intentional murder – for the vilest of reasons – racism and personal enmity." (1)

A mere six days later in Arkansas--the same thing occurred. This time, many of the men were already injured and lying on the ground. And they to were cruelly and maliciously massacred by the confederate army devoted to never recognizing their humanity. It was also reported that many of the Black Union soldiers were murdered even after the major fighting was over. The outrage at Poison Springs, indeed became a logical battle cry from that time onward for those once enslaved, "Remember Poison Springs!"

So, in this sesquicentennial year, the seriousness of purpose of the US Colored Troops is noted and those who fought and who died upon Arkansas soil are honored. May their efforts be always remembered and may the courage and the stories of these men once enslaved, and now daring to face the enemy, be told.

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(1) Richard Fuchs, An Unerring Fire: The Massacre At Fort Pillow (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole, 2002), 14.

Remembering Jenkins Ferry

When General Frederick Steele sent a large contingent of Union soldiers into the Camden Arkansas area, there were black soldiers among them from the 1st and 2nd Kansas Colored Infantries.  After a major military campaign, Steele led the Union forces into southwestern Arkansas. The plan was to join forces with another battalion of Union soldiers to secure northern Louisiana and then move to secure southwestern Arkansas before moving into Texas. 

However, the Union Army forces in northern Louisiana had suffered defeat at Confederate hands, now leaving General Steele's Union soldiers less secure than had been planned.  In addition, the Union forces were suddenly very low on supplies.

General Frederick Steele

Source:  Library of Congress, Civil War Photograph Collection, Photographs Division

Earlier in the month, Steel had occupied the area around Camden Arkansas, but his forces had lost many men at Poison Springs, and at an incident at Mark's Mill.  Steele had to turn his forces back towards Little Rock. After a heavy rain had fallen, Steele's troops were crossing the flooded waters of the Saline River, when suddenly they were attacked, and the battle had begun.

The confederate leader, Edmund Smith had launched the attack, and the battle began in knee deep waters. Although the Union forces were able to hold off the attack long enough to cross the swollen river, they were not able to secure the area, and had to retreat back northward towards Little Rock. The battle was fought with many injuries to both sides.

Illustration depicting the Battle of Jenkins Ferry

The ambulance corps from the 2nd Kansas Colored had been ordered to collect some of the wounded, when they too were ambushed. Many died and many were injured in the process. Steele eventually got most of his forces across the river and ordered his men to destroy the pontoon bridge. From the Union Army over 700 men were killed or reported missing, and it is said that close to 1000 men from the confederate army also died.  

It is said that at this battle of Jenkins Ferry, men from the Kansas Colored were motivated by their battle cry, "Remember Poison Springs" and that some engaged in revenge killing of the enemy retaliating for their comrades killed at Poison Springs. 

The south was successful in controlling the area, forcing a retreat of Union soldiers back towards Little Rock. However, the forces under the control on Gen. Steele were still intact including the men of the Kansas Colored, and they would meet the enemy again in Arkansas, and later Indian Territory later the same year. 

I share this story on this day, in honor of my ancestor John Talkington, who was injured at Jenkins Ferry.

In Memory of John Tuckington (Talkington), my ancestor, wounded at Jenkins Ferry

"Remember Poison Springs!"

Image from Encyclopedia of Arkansas

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From the perspective of Black Union Soldiers the Battle of Poison Springs Arkansas would become the catalyst for a more determined effort in their battle for freedom. Simply put--it became their battle cry! The 79th US Colored Infantry was remembered by black soldiers on the western frontier throughout the remainder of the war, and is said to have propelled the Kansas Colored and later 83rd US Colored soldiers to victory from that point forward.

It should be noted that many of the soldiers of the 1st Kansas Colored were former slaves from Indian Territory, and the among the confederate soldiers that they confronted were former slave holding Indians from the Choctaw Nation.  (Choctaws along with the other tribes from the Trail of Tears, were also owners of African Slaves, and this was the first major battle in which former slaves from these tribes would meet former slave holding Confederate Indian regiments. They would later engage the Indian confederates at Honey Springs, Indian Territory in the same year.)

At Poison Springs Arkansas, General Frederick Steele had ordered a foraging expedition of about 600 men to gather corn from area farms and plantations, to address the Federal forces shrinking supplies. About 18 miles from Camden Arkansas the forces which included members of the 1st Kansas Colored (later known as the 79th US Colored Infantry) were to supply of many wagons with corn in order to secure much needed food. The Union soldiers were said to have been ambushed by Confederate forces that had outnumbered this smaller band of Federal soldiers. With approximately 3600 men, the Federal soldiers were attacked.

Official records indicated that at first, the Kansas Colored fought off two of the attacks..  The Confederate forces were then joined by the Choctaw Brigade, a Confederate unit led by tribal leader Tandy Walker, forcing the Union soldiers into retreat. As the Union soldiers retreated the fighting was halted.

Tandy Walker, Choctaw leader, & Confederate General.  He led the brigade at Poison  Springs

As the soldiers retreated, attention was then given to the injured black soldiers of the Kansas Colored.  The sight of black men in uniform often brought out immediate rage from Confederate soldiers.  And as had taken place at Ft. Pillow,  and later Saltville and other places, the injured black soldiers were seldom taken prisoner--they were slaughtered.

It has been explained by some historians that the very sight of black men, who throughout the lifetime of many southern soldiers had been held in a lesser societal status, to now see them now fighting equally as men, immediate rage, rose from their inner core, and no military training would allow them to treat these former slaves as prisoners---their rage would take over, and men from Ft. Pillow, to Poison Springs would pay the ultimate price for freedom. No protocol would be followed, no quarter would be given to those men, and on that fateful day in Arkansas, many of the men of the 1st Kansas Colored would become martyrs in their own fight for freedom.

[For a useful reference on the treatment of black soldiers, and understanding of the emotional reasoning behind these events, this following work is recommended as a guide to understanding the motives behind massacres at places like Poison Springs, Ft. Pillow, Saltville and others:
Urwin, Gregory J. W. “‘We Cannot Treat Negroes… as Prisoners of War’”: Racial Atrocities and Reprisals in Civil War Arkansas.” In Civil War Arkansas: Beyond Battles and Leaders, edited by Anne Bailey and Daniel Sutherland. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1999]


For the remainder of the Civil War, Remember Poison Springs became the battle cry of Black soldiers, on the western frontier.


(Today an artifact of the Kansas Colored still exists---one of the flags of the Kansas Colored has been preserved by the State of Kansas, where they were organized.)

DESCRIPTIONS OF WHAT HAPPENED AT POISONS SPRINGS

EXCERPTS FROM THE OFFICIAL RECORDS OF THE REBELLION:

Description of the Kansas Colored at the battle:

These excerpts were taken from:

A few months later this battle cry was heard at Jenkins Ferry.  I have an ancestor who died  after receiving wounds the Jenkins Ferry Battle. He served with the 2nd Kansas Colored, (later known as the 83 US Colored Infantry). Being part of an ambulance corps from the 2nd Kansas, he would most likely have heard that Poison Springs battle cry from his comrades, though as fate would have some of them to fall to the enemy, that battle cry would be heard for the remainder of the war. And although my ancestor lost his life in the battle, the greater battle for freedom was still won. And as I think about him, I honor the battle cry that propelled him, for I also remember those from brave men the 1st Kansas Colored who paid the ultimate price on this day, April 18th 1864.

Today, I remember Poison Springs!

Finding The Civil War Era Stories Around Us

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Someone asked me recently how I was able to find out about much of the local Civil War history that I write about.  This was a valid question, especially since much is not written about nor presented in the standard history curriculum. The question arises---how do you know if you should delve into Civil War History?  

Well my answer is simple---if the war affected the region where you lived---and if your ancestors were impacted---then one should by all means study the events as they occurred on the local level in particular.

So----where are the clues and how can you find out? Well, many clues to our history are all around us----right in the communities where we live.  We only have to open our eyes to learn see them. Every community has a rich history and even if you own community or that of your ancestors is not discussed in a textbook sense, there is still data to be found, anyway. We only have to let our eyes see it! Look at your local community with a new lens.

Was your ancestral community a site where any historic battles took place?  If so--- were there any black soldiers at that battle?  Years ago this would have been difficult to answer---but today that is not a difficult task.  So ask the question and see what you find.

This historic marker reflects activities the 1864 campaign against Petersburg. There 22 black units

involved in the events around Petersburg VA, from June 1864 - April 1865

 If there was a battle in the vicinity---that tells you several things.

For there to have been a battle:

1) There had to have been Union soldiers. 

2) If there was a Union regiment in the area, there was a Union encampment---a Union line.

3) If there was a Union line, there is also the possibility of sanctuary---a contraband camp might have been nearby.

4) If there was a large plantation or estate in the area, there might have also have been right after the war, a local field office of the Freedman's Bureau----thus leading to new records and a new source of data including labor contracts with newly freed slaves.

5) If there was a large estate, and a presence of Union soldiers---there was also the possibility of a regiment of US Colored Troops being organized in the same area.

Are there historic antebellum homes? Then there is another opportunity for research.

An historic home--Heyward House, Bluffton SC

In those communities if there were any antebellum homes---then there was a community of people who were enslaved who worked in those homes and also upon the grounds of the estate.  Even if your ancestors had no ties to the estate--someone in the community did have ties, and knowledge of the community's history involves working on the history of those tied to those estates.  

If there are other historic sites---an old mills, historic buildings, churches, and courthouses, there are opportunities for researchers to obtain more data on their own people. Such places were often worked on by enslaved people in the area---so there is more data to explore.

Old churches often reveal information about slaves, in those cases where slave holders allowed slaves to have services.

There are many stories around our ancestral homes, and by placing our ancestors back on the landscape and understanding that their lives unfolded right there----we must begin to look at communities differently as we pass them by.

Thankfully---more historic markers are also appearing on the landscape reflecting in incidents that involved the fight for freedom made by our ancestors who were soldiers and who were enslaved people seeking their freedom. 

We must simply learn to look at those landmarks as we pass them by.

Historical marker in Nashville area.

 

Marker honoring the 1st Regiment Kansas Colored, Rentiesville, Oklahoma

Looking at Civil War, It's History and Why We Don't Know More

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Image of 54th Massachusetts Seige at Ft. Wagner

Several weeks ago in a weekday genealogy online chat, the Civil War Sesquicentennial came up in the conversation.  The participation of the US Colored Troops was mentioned and the various regiments were brought up.  One regular member made a comment that surprised me. "I wonder", he said, "how were so many men able to escape to Massachusetts to join the Union Army."   

"What?"  I asked him to repeat his statement, or to clarify what he was asking.  He restated it, wondering how so many men who were slaves in the South, got to Massachusetts, during the war to join. I realized that this visitor, a regular to the chat and a long time family researcher, had no idea that the men who served in the US Colored Troops---were from the south, enlisted in the south, and fought in the south. They had to escape to get to the Union lines where the Federal soldiers were encamped, but why did he think they fled all the way to Massachusetts to enlist?  He then started talking about the movie "Glory" and the 54th Massachusetts, and then I realized it.  He had never studied the Civil War. Ever!  

But, I began to think about how and why a man in his 60s had no concept of the Civil War, and the involvement of black soldiers, and why he was under the impression that there was only one regiment of black soldiers---and all were in the 54th Massachusetts, depicted in Glory!  And I had a larger question----was he alone in this thinking? I thought about it----and sadly I realized that he was not alone and was not unique. The fact is---most African Americans have never studied the Civil War, nor relished many stories from the war----because the involvement of our own people in our own fight for freedom---is not widely known and has never been taught.   The movie Glory, even with the many historical errors in the film----is the only movie to ever tell the story of black soldiers in the American Civil War.  

So then I asked myself how many Civil War or Civil War era movies have been made in general?  

I made a query on Google, and I was surprised that there were quite a few. Some of them went back to the beginning of the movie industry:

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

Andersonville

Drums in the Deep South

Gettysburg

Gettysburg Three Days of Destiny

Glory

Gods and Generals

Gone With the Wind

How the West Was Won

Major Dundee

North and South

Outlaw Josey Wales

Red Badge of Courage

Ride With the Devil

Shadow Riders

Shenandoah

The Birth of a Nation

The Blue and the Gray

The General

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

USS Hunley

Wicked Spring

As I look at the list, two of them stand out in my mind. The Birth of a Nation was a film that did so much harm in the depiction of former slaves as intrinsically evil and a film that glorified the KKKlan and made them  the "heroes" who saved the south. This film did so much harm to black families struggling in the South scraping a living as sharecroppers.  It depicted them and their families as people deserving of being relegated to the mistreatment and lynchings of the era and made them "deserving" of any harm directed to them.

And there was Gone With the Wind, a movie I refused to watch until I was in my 40s and hated it for it represented---a glorification of slave owners and slave life with happy and simple minded slaves like Prissy. I continue to be amazed at how many people find that film to be such a wonderful love story when a major part of this country find it nauseating. With the other films---African American soldiers don't exist and were not participants in the war.

There have been documentaries in recent years that have included the involvement of US Colored Troops.

• Ken Burns, The Civil War (1990 Mini-Series PBS & Turner Home Entertainment)
• Civil War Journal II 

After looking at that list and thinking about the man in the chat, I then began to think about another phenomenon. 

Anyone who grew up in the south---knows---that just about every town, or at least every county seat has some kind of monument to confederate soldiers. 

From an African American perspective, those monuments were simply one of the many indignities that life brought----monuments honoring slavery, the continuous us of that flag, the obstacles brought by segregation, and the hundreds of attacks upon innocent people usually with that flag being waved by angry mobs and so much more---it was just part of living in the south.  But we had learned to just ignore the indignities and go about life. 

At sporting events when the son Dixie was played we knew to just stay quiet while white people would cheer, get emotional and feel some kind of tie to a time that we were thanking our God that such time had passed.  It was just part of life---expect the insults, for that is what they were, we ignored them and went on with more important issues at hand, for one's daily life.

But in recent years---thankfully in the years since more have had access to better education, the involvement of African Americans and the participation in the Civil War is now openly discussed and this discussion has created a new initiative to tell the story. 

This has been enhanced by genealogical research that so many families have undertaken, and a new awareness has emerged because their own family was involved in the Civil War and they are documenting it!

Page from Pension File of Isaac Alexander, a soldier in the 79th US Colored Infantry

But then I reflected again on the conversation in the chat. The interest in US Colored Troops in the Civil War surged after 1989 when the movie Glory was released.  A few years later, in 1998, the African American Civil War Monument was also unveiled. 

African American Civil War Monument, Washington DC

Re-enactment groups have arisen over the years, many of which reflect the histories of specific regiments of US Colored Troops.  

Images above:  USCTs  (left)   Reenactor group from BennieMcCrae's website (right)

Of course this has been an uphill battle for just as quickly as USCT history has emerged, many fell victim to strong arm propaganda about mythical black confederate battalions that just did not exist.  Anecdotes of loyal slaves are always shown as some kind of "proof" that these groups existed, but finally historians are expressing themselves more loudly against the myth makers and the message is getting through to the audience that needs to hear the simple fact that there were over 178,000 black men who fought for their own freedom, joined the Union Army to do so, and 16 Medal of Honors were awarded from their ranks.  

I had to stop and think about that----16 Medals of Honor awarded, and most people cannot tell you the name of one man.  This is not taught at all. 

Headstone of William H. Barnes, one of 17 black Medal of Honor Winners in 

the Civil War

I think that I was able to learn why we don't know more and how even slight USCT history is not common knowledge.  I also realize that after the Civil War, when those who had seceded were given back their power and status and that of former slaves was legally made second class by Jim Crow, those black ex-soldiers were not able to freely celebrate their days of glory as victors in the war.  Most lived in the only place they knew as home, and their victory and their post war years of celebration, would have made them easily targeted as they lived among those against whom they had been fighting.

Schools did not include black civil war soldiers in the curriculum, and black schools subject to inspection at anytime by a hostile school board, would not have tolerated stories of Union victories and bravery of black soldiers during those vulnerable post civil war and early 20th century years. 

Also by being identified as Union soldiers in their local communities, they might have been targets for violence towards them and family, so they became silent heroes, or as a good friend and colleague has called them many times, "soldiers of silence."  

In my Bass family in the 1880s that family was a victim of "night riders" who killed my gr. gr. grandfather.  His son, my Uncle Sephus Bass, did get in some good shots and had to leave west for Texas where he did spend the rest of his life.  

1879 Painting Depicting Klan Attack. My Bass Family was attacked by Klan night riders and my gr. gr. grandfather Irving Bass (father to Sephus Bass) was killed. Irving had two sons (Sephas and Braxton) and two grandsons, Henry and Emmanuel who served in the 111th US Colored Infantry together.  

So many people to this day still do not know that they have ancestors who were Union Army veterans.  

The good part of the story is that the numbers are increasing.These silent warriors deserve to be honored and to have their stories told. 

I am happy to talk about them, call their names and to honor them.  

We are here because of them.  They are my heroes.

Certificate Verifying my Uncle Cephas (sic) Bass and his enlistment in 111th US Colored Infantry. His name is also engraved on the wall of the Afr. American Civil War Memorial in Washington DC.

ARKANSAS: Black Civil War Regiments

Headstone of an Arkansas Black Union Soldier

Buried at National Cemetery, Ft. Smith, Arkansas

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Though they are not often mentioned, there were10 regiments that were part of the United States Colored Troops organized in the state of Arkansas. Since finding a good number of soldiers from my hometown that are buried in the National cemetery, in Ft. Smith, my interest in the local history of the Arkansas USCTs has grown.  I have studied the histories and movements of many of these regiments, and feel that they should be mentioned on this anniversary of one of the battles that took place on Arkansas soil.

Several of the regiments were organized as Regiments of African Descent, and were later re-designated with US Colored designations. It is common to sometimes see the older regiments described with the letters "A. D" meaning that these are soldiers of African Descent. (To the south, in neighboring Louisiana, a similar designation was made for the early companies organized there. They were identified as Corps d'Afrique in the traditional French.)

Also not often mentioned is the fact that Arkansas had some strong abolitionist sentiments in the NW portion of the state where plantation style slavery was not practiced the way it was in the counties that were part of the Mississippi Delta in the southeast portion of the state. Though slavery did exist in the northwest counties, it was not as large and the numbers of slaves did not match the numbers in central and southeastern Arkansas.
Nevertheless, those enslaved in northwest Arkansas yearned for freedom just as much.  When the word spread throughout the enslaved community that the 11th US Colored Infantry was organizing in that part of the state, a good number of slaves from Sebastian and Crawford counties enlisted, as did able bodied men from nearby Indian Territory, where both the Cherokee and Choctaw Nations had a good number of their slaves to escape and enlist.

Later as the 11th US Colored Infantry moved east towards central Arkansas, there were opportunities later to enlist when units such as the 83, and later 57th Colored Infantries were sent to western Arkansas. Wherever the Union army encamped, there were opportunities for escape to Freedom.

As a result, it is important to take note of the regiments that come from  this state. By knowing where these units organized and where they served, might help researchers to connect with possible ancestors who may have been recruited and possibly served in the Federal army.

This is a list of the regiments that were organized in the state of Arkansas.

Battery H. 2nd Regiment Light Artillery - Organized from the 1st Arkansas Battery of African Descent, on December 13, 1864. Attached to the Post of Pine Bluff, Arkansas., 7th Corp, Department of Arkansas to September 1865. SERVICE---Garrison duty at Pine Bluff, ARk, entire term. Expedition to Mount Elba, Arkansas and skirmish at Saline River, January 22,-February 4, 1865. Mustered out September 15, 1865.

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11th U.S. Colored Infantry (Old) - Organized at Fort Smith, Arkansas December 19, 1863 to March 3, 1864. Attached to 2nd Brigade, District of the Frontier, 7th Corps, Dept. of Arkansas, to January, 1865. Colored Brigade, 7th Corps, to February, 1865. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 7th Corps, to April, 1865. SERVICE--Post and garrison duty at Fort Smith, Ark., until November, 1864. Action at Fort Smith August 24. Moved to Little Rock, Ark., November, 1864. Action at Boggs' Mill January 24, 1865. Duty at Little Rock and at Lewisburg, Ark., until April, 1865. Consolidated with 112th and 113th to form new 113th U.S. Colored Troop April 22, 1865. More information on the history of the 11th US Colored Infantry (Old) can be found here.Names of the soldiers that enlisted in the 11th can be found here. Several headstones of soldiers that served in the 11th have been located and documented here.

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46th Regiment Infantry--This unit was organized from 1st Arkansas Infantry, African Descent, May 11, 1864. Attached to Post of Milliken's Bend, La., District of Vicksburg, Miss., to November, 1864. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division. U.S. Colored Troops, District of Vicksburg, Miss.. until January, 1865. 2nd Brigade, Post and Defenses of Memphis, Tenn., District West Tennessee, to February, 1865. New Orleans, La., Dept. of the Gulf, to May, 1865. Dept. of Texas, to January, 1866. SERVICE--Post and garrison duty at Milliken's Bend, La., and at Haines' Bluff, Miss., until January, 1865. Actions at Mound Plantation. Miss., June 24 and 29, 1864. Ordered to Memphis, Tenn., January, 1865, and garrison duty there until February, 1865. Ordered to New Orleans, La., February 23, and duty there until May 4. Ordered to Brazos Santiago, Texas, May 4. Duty at Clarksville and Brownsville on the Rio Grande, Texas, until January, 1866. Mustered out January 30, 1866.

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54th U.S. Colored Infantry -Organized March 11, 1864, from 2nd Arkansas Infantry (African Descent). Attached to 2nd Brigade Frontier Division, 7th Corps, Dept. of Arkansas, to February, 1865. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 7th Corps, to August, 1865. Dept. of Arkansas to December, 1866. SERVICE--Duty at Helena, Ark., until May, 1864. Ordered to Fort Smith, Ark., and duty there until January, 1865. Actions at Fort Gibson September 16, 1864. Cabin Creek September 19. Cow Creek, Kansas, November 14 and 28. Ordered to Little Rock January, 1865. Action on Arkansas River January 18. Duty at Little Rock and at various points in Dept. of Arkansas until December, 1866. Mustered out August 8 to December 31, 1866.

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56th U.S. Colored Infantry--Organized March 11, 1864, from 3rd Alabama Infantry (African Descent). Attached to District of Eastern Arkansas, 7th Corps, Dept. of Arkansas, to August, 1865. Dept. of Arkansas to September, 1866. SERVICE-- Post and garrison duty at Helena, Ark., until February, 1865. Action at Indian Bay April 13, 1864. Muffleton Lodge June 29. Operations in Arkansas July 1-31. Wallace's Ferry, Big Creek, July 26. Expedition from Helena up White River August 29-September 3. Expedition from Helena to Friar's Point, Miss., February 19-22, 1865. Duty at Helena and other points in Arkansas until September, 1866. Mustered out September 15, 1866. Regiment lost during service 4 Officers and 21 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 2 Officers and 647 Enlisted men by disease. Total 674.

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57th U.S. Colored Infantry--Organized March 11, 1864, from 4th Arkansas Infantry (African Descent). Attached to District of Eastern Arkansas, 7th Corps, Dept. of Arkansas, to May, 1864. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 7th Corps, to January, 1865. Colored Brigade, 7th Corps, to February, 1865. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 7th Corps, to August, 1865. Dept. of Arkansas to December, 1866. SERVICE Garrison duty at Helena and Little Rock, Ark., until August, 1864. (A detachment on Steele's Camden Expedition March 23-May 3, 1864, as bridge train guard.) Skirmish near Little Rock April 26, 1864. Operations against Shelby north of Arkansas River May 13-31. Skirmishes near Little Rock May 24 and 28. March to Brownsville, Ark., August 23, and to Duvall's Bluff August 29. Duty there and at Little Rock until June, 1865; then at various points in the Dept. of Arkansas guarding property and on post duty until December, 1866. Companies "A" and "D" mustered out October 18-19, 1866. Regiment mustered out December 31, 1866.

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69th U.S. Colored Infantry--Organized at Pine Bluff, Duvall's Bluff and Helena, Ark., and Memphis, Tenn., December 14, 1864, to March 17, 1865. On duty at these points in Dept. of Arkansas and District of West Tennessee until September, 1865. Discontinued September 20, 1865.

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112 U.S. Colored Infantry--Organized at Little Rock, Ark., from 5th Arkansas Colored Infantry April 23 to November 8, 1864. Attached to 1st Division, 7th Corps, Dept. of Arkansas, June, 1864, to January, 1865. Colored Brigade, 7th Corps, to February, 1865. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 7th Corps, to April, 1865. Post and garrison duty at Little Rock, Ark., entire term. Transferred to 113th United States Colored Troops (New) April 1, 1865.

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113th U.S. Colored Infantry (Old) Organized June 25, 1864, from 6th Arkansas Colored Infantry. Attached to 1st Division, 7th Corps, Dept. of Arkansas, to January, 1865. Colored Brigade, 7th Corps, to February, 1865. 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 7th Corps, to April, 1865. SERVICE---Post and garrison duty at Little Rock, Ark., entire term. Consolidated with 11th United States Colored Troops (Old) and 112th United States Colored Troops to form 113th United States Colored Troops (New) April 1, 1865.

113th U.S. Colored Infantry (New)--Organized April 1, 1864, by consolidation of 11th United States Colored Troops (Old), 112th United States Colored Troops and 113th United States Colored Troops (Old). Attached to 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 7th Corps, Dept. of Arkansas, to August, 1865, and Dept. of Arkansas to April, 1866. Duty in Dept. of Arkansas. Mustered out April 9, 1866.

ARKANSAS: Battles Fought by US Colored Troops

Assault on Ft. Wagner, by the 54th Mass Colored

Source: Library of Congress. Image info:

cph 3b52016 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3b5201

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The Civil War has long been studies and analyzed and each battle has been marked in many gazetteers, atlases and history texts. Upon learning of my ancestors and their involvement in the Civil War, I was interested in learning if they had participated in any actual battles. 

When I began to research the subject, very quickly stories like Ft. Pillow, and Poison Springs, and of course the film Glory illustrated that indeed black soldiers actually fought.  But a majority of soldiers in the US Colored Troops were not in the battle at Ft. Wagner, and since I research the Trans-Mississippi theater of the Civil War, I was curious to know---were there any Civil War battles in those states.

I was surprised when I learned about the incident and the massacre at Poison Springs. Not unlike Ft. Pillow, the action at Poison Springs, became a battle cry for other black regiments that fought in that state.  "Remember Poison Springs!"

When William Gladstone published his book, The United States Colored Troops 1863-1867, I found some of the data to be most interesting, including a list of the battles in which the black soldiers particpated.  There were more than I had imagined from my home state. Some occurred in sm all rural communities and others in the cities. What was even more surprising was that all of the black units that fought were not all from Arkansas originated units, some were from other states.

Therefore, to honor those soldiers, I list the Battles in Arkansas, involving US Colored soldiers, the dates on which they occurred and the regiment engaged in that event.

Arkansas River, Dec 18, 1864 54th Infantry. (note this is not the 54th Mass. This is an Arkansas regiment)

Bayou Boeuf Ark., December 13, 1863, 3rd US Colored Cavalry

Big Creek, Arkansas, July 26, 1864, Battery E, 2nd US Colored Light Artillery, 60th US Colored Infantry

Boggs' Mills, Arkansas January 24, 1865 11 US Colored Infantry (Old)

Camden Arkansas, April 24, 1864, 1st US Colored Cavalry

"Chippewa" Steamer, Ark, February 17, 1865  83rd, US Colored Infantry

Clarksville, Arkansas, January 18, 1865 79th US Colored Infantry (New)

Fort Smith, Arkansas August 24, 1864, 11th US Colored Infantry (Old)

Fort Smith, Arkansas December 24, 1864, 83rd US Colored Infantry (New)

Helena Arkansas, August 2, 1864, 64th US Colored Infantry

Horse-Head Creek, Arkansas, February 17, 1864, 79th US Colored Infantry (New)

Indian Bay Arkansas, April 13, 1864 56th US Colored Infantry

Jenkins Ferry, Arkansas, April 30, 1864, 79th US Col'd (New) & 83rd US Colored Infantry (New) 

Joy's Ford, Arkansas, January 8, 1865 79th US Colored Infantry (New)

Little Rock, Arkansas April 26 and May28, 1864, 57th US Colored Infantry

"Lotus" Steamer Arkansas, January 17, 1865, 83rd US Colored Infantry (New)

Meffleton Lodge Arkansas June 29, 1864, 56th US Colored Infantry

Pine Bluff, Arkansas, July 2, 1864, 64th US Colored Infantry

Poison Springs, Arkansas, April 18, 1864, 79th US Colored Infantry (New)

Prairie D'Ann, Arkansas 79th US Col'd (New) and 83rd US Colored Infantry (New)

Rector's Farm, Arkansas December 19, 1864 83rd US Colored Infantry (New)

Roseville Creek, Arkansas March 20th, 1864, 79th US Colored Infantry, (New) 

Ross' Landing, Arkansas, February 14, 1864 51st US Colored Infantry

Saline River Arkansas, May 4, 1864  83rd US Colored Infantry

Saline River Arkansas, May 1865  54th US Colored Infantry

Wallace's Ferry Arkansas  July 26, 1864  56th US Colored Infantry

White River Arkansas, October 22, 1864  53rd US Colored Infantry

These 27 battles give testament to the burning desire for these soldiers of color to fight for their basic right, to live as free men!  

May they always be remembered.