African American Military Records

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African Americans in the Military

Americans with African ancestry have served in United States military units since the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in 1619. No war has been fought by the United States in which the African American soldiers did not participate. African Americans fought and served valiantly in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish American War, the World Wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the War in Iraq.

• African Americans at War: An Encyclopedia, Two volumes by Jonathan D. Sutherland. Santa Barbara: California: ABC-CLIO, 2004. FS Catalog book 973 M26sj volume 2; WorldCat 19774886
• Camp Fires of the Afro-American; or, The Colored Man as a Patriot, by James M. Guthrie. Philadelphia: Afro-American Pub Co., 1899 reprint New York: Johnson Reprint Corporation, 1970. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; WorldCat 367470859
• Services of Colored Americans in the Wars of 1776 and 1812, by William C. Nell,. Boston, Massachusetts, 1851. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library

Revolutionary War, 1775-1783

African American Crispus Attucks was the first martyr in the Patriot cause at the Boston Massacre (1770) leading up the the American Revolution.

African Americans, both enslaved and free, served on both sides during the war. Black soldiers served in northern militias from the outset, but this was forbidden in the South where slaveholders feared arming the enslaved population. Lord Dunmore, the Royal Governor of Virginia, issued an emancipation proclamation in November 1775, promising freedom to enslaved runaways who fought for the British; Sir Henry Clinton issued a similar edict in New York in 1779. Tens of thousands of enslaved persons escaped to the British lines, although possibly as few as 1,000 served under arms. Many of the rest served as orderlies, mechanics, laborers, servants, scouts, and guides, although more than half died in smallpox epidemics that swept the British forces and many were driven out of the British lines when food ran low. Despite Dunmore's promises, the majority were not given their freedom. Many Black Loyalists' descendants now live in Canada.

In response, and because of manpower shortages, Washington lifted the ban on Black enlistment in the Continental Army in January 1776. All-Black units were formed in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Many were enslaved persons who were promised freedom for serving in lieu of their slaveholders. Another all-Black unit came from Haiti with French forces. At least 5,000 Black soldiers fought as Revolutionaries.

• 1775-1783 U.S., Black and Indigenous Soldiers in the American Revolution, 1775-1783 at Ancestry — index & images ($)
• 1776 United States, Lord Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment, 1776 at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1783 United States, Inspection Roll Of Negroes, 1783 at Findmypast - index & images ($)

Boston Massacre - March 5, 1770

• Boston Massacre - at Wikipedia

• Cripus Attucks - at Wikipedia

Peter Salem and Salem Poor are the most noted of the American Patriots during this era.

• Patriots of Color. Free database at Archives. Includes details about thousands of Black Americans in the Revolutionary War.

Additional Sources

• "Guide to Records about Black Participants in the American Revolution from the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records at the National Archives," by Debra Newman Ham. Journal of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society. 22, No.1 (2003):12-26. FS Catalog book 973 D25j
• Forgotten Patriots : African American and American Indian Patriots of the Revolutionary War : a Guide to Service, Sources, and Studies, by Eric G. Grundset, editor and project manager. Washington, D.C. : National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, c2008. FS Catalog book 973 M2geg; At various libraries (WorldCat)
• African Americans and American Indians in the Revolutionary War, by Jack Darrell Crowder. Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company Inc., Publishers, ©2019. FS Catalog book 973 M2cro; At various libraries (WorldCat)
• List of Black Servicemen Compiled from the War Department Collection of Revolutionary Records, by Debra L. Newman, comp. Special List No. 36. Washington: National Archives and Records Service. General Services Administration, 1974. ''Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library; At various libraries (WorldCat)
• Black Courage, 1775-1783: Documentation of Black Participation in the American Revolution, by Robert Ewell Greene. Washington, D.C.: National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1984. FS Catalog book 973 M2gb; At various libraries (WorldCat)
• Black Soldiers of the American Revolutionary War, by Mrs. Frank Ross Stewart. Centre, Alabama: Stewart University Press, 1978. FS Catalog book 973 M254s; At various libraries (WorldCat)
• The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution, by William Cooper Nell. New York, New York: Arno Press, 1968. FS Catalog book 973 F2amL; At various libraries (WorldCat)
• The Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution, by Sidney Kaplan and Emma Nogrady Kaplan. Amherst, Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts, Press, 1908. FS Catalog book 973 H2kap; At various libraries (WorldCat)
• African-American Patriots in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution, by Bobby G. Moss and Michael Scoggins. Blacksburg, South Carolina : Scotia-Hibernia Press, c2004 FS Catalog book 973 M2mbb; At various libraries (WorldCat)

Loyalists

• Black Loyalists: Our History, Our People at Canada's Digital Collections - Project describing the lives of African Americans who joined the British during the Revolutionary War and fled to Nova Scotia.
• The Black Loyalist directory : African Americans in Exile After the American Revolution, by Graham Russell Hodges, ed. New York, New York : Garland Pub. Co., c1996 FS Catalog book 973 F24bL; At various libraries (WorldCat)
• African-American loyalists in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution, by Bobby G. Moss and Michael C. Scoggins. Blacksburg, South Carolina: Scotia-Hibernia Press, c2005 FS Catalog book 973 M2mbL; At various libraries (WorldCat)

National Archives

• Inspection Roll of Negroes No. 1 Miscellaneous Papers of the Continental Congress. RG 360 - Images
• Inspection Roll of Negroes No. 2 Miscellaneous Papers of the Continental Congress. RG 360- Images

War of 1812, 1812-1815

History of Service

• Fighting for Freedom: African Americans and the War of 1812 at National Park Service
• Away to Freedom: African American soldiers and the War of 1812 by Omar Shareef Price
• The Black Phalanx; a History of the Negro Soldiers of the United States in the Wars of 1775-1812, 1861-'65. by Joseph T. Wilson. 1897. Online at: Internet Archive
• Black regulars and militiamen in the War of 1812, by Eric Eugene Johnson. Berwyn Heights, Maryland: Heritage Books, Inc., ©2017. FS Catalog book 973 M2jeb; At various libraries (WorldCat)

Army

• War of 1812 Discharge Certificates at National Archives - African Americans served in the Regular Army during the War of 1812, primarily in the 26th Infantry. A "B" follows the names of those whose physical description indicates Black or Mulatto skin color. People whose skin was described as "dark" were probably "dark" Caucasians, not African Americans. The "Blacks" and "Mulattoes" noted while records were being arranged are:

• 4th Infantry = Richard Boyington.
• 14th Infantry = George B. Graves.
• 26th Infantry = Hosea/Hossea Conner, John Cooper, Joseph Freeman, Charles Mathias, Samuel Morris, John Peters, and William Smith.
  

Other African Americans may be in these or other records of the Regular Army or in the records of state militias.

• Black Regulars in the War of 1812, By Eric E. Johnson. Berwyn Heights, Maryland: Heritage Books, 2015. FS Library book 973 M2jee; At various libraries

Navy

• Black Sailors During the War of 1812 - PDF by Lauren McCormack, Revised by Kate Monea and Carl Herzog. 2020, U.S. Constitution Museum, 2005.

Records at the National Archives

• Domestic Claims Commission RG 76
• Definitive List of Slaves and Property, ca. 1827-ca. 1827. NAID 1174162 Names 3,608 enslaved persons.
• Slave Lists, 7.10.1827 - 8.31.1838. NAID 1174163

Civil War (1861-1865)

• United States Colored Troops in the Civil War - records and information

Sgt. Major Christian Fleetwood, United States Colored Troops (USCT), Medal of Honor recipient, U.S. Civil War.

The history of African Americans in the U.S. Civil War is marked by 180,000 African Americans comprising 163 units served in the Union Army (United States Colored Troops) during the Civil War, and many more African Americans served in the Union Navy. Both free African Americans and enslaved runaways joined the fight. Substantially smaller numbers of Blacks are recorded to have served on the Confederate side including two units formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1865; however, records are scarce, and an exact number is not known.

On July 17, 1862, Congress passed two acts allowing the enlistment of African Americans, but official enrollment occurred only after the September 1862 issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. However, state and local militia units had already begun enlisting Blacks, including the Black Brigade of Cincinnati, raised in September to help provide manpower to thwart a feared Confederate raid on Cincinnati.

Union Navy

• The African American in the Union Navy 1861-1865, By David L. Valuska. New York, New York : Garland Pub. Co., 1993. FS Catalog book 973 F2va; At various libraries (WorldCat) - Includes a roster of sailors.

United States Colored Troops Sources

• United States Colored Troops in the Civil War
• Freedom by the Sword: the U.S. Colored Troops, 1862-1867. By William A. Dobak. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History. United States Army, 2011. Online at FamilySearch Digital Library
• Tabular Analysis of the Records of the U.S. Colored Troops and Their Predecessor Units in the National Archives of the United States. Joseph B. Ross, comp. Special List No. 33. Washington, National Archives and Records Service. General Services Administration, 1973. Online at FamilySearch Digital Library

1863-1865 United States, Civil War Service Records of Union Colored Troops, 1863-1865 at FamilySearch - How to use this collection; - Index & Images

• 1840-1883 U.S., Confederate Army Payrolls for Enslaved Labor, 1840-1883 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• United States Colored Troops Pension Applications at International African American Museum's Center for Family History

In general, white soldiers and officers believed that Black men lacked the ability to fight and fight well. In October 1862, African American soldiers of the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers silenced their critics by repulsing attacking Confederates at the Battle of Island Mound, Missouri. By August 1863, 14 Negro Regiments were in the field and ready for service. At the Battle of Port Hudson, Louisiana, May 27, 1863, the African American soldiers bravely advanced over open ground in the face of deadly artillery fire. Although the attack failed, the Black soldiers proved their capability to withstand the heat of battle.

On July 17, 1863, at Honey Springs, Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, the 1st Kansas Colored fought with courage again. Union troops under General James G. Blunt ran into a strong Confederate force under General Douglas H. Cooper. After a two-hour bloody engagement, Cooper's soldiers retreated. The 1st Kansas, which had held the center of the Union line, advanced to within fifty paces of the Confederate line and exchanged fire for some twenty minutes until the Confederates broke and ran. General Blunt wrote after the battle, "I never saw such fighting as was done by the Negro regiment....The question that negroes will fight is settled; besides they make better solders in every respect than any troops I have ever had under my command."

The most widely known battle fought by African Americans was the assault on Fort Wagner, South Carolina, by the 54th Massachusetts Infantry on July 18, 1863. The 54th volunteered to lead the assault on the strongly fortified Confederate positions. The soldiers of the 54th scaled the fort's parapet and were only driven back after brutal hand-to-hand combat. Despite the defeat, the unit was hailed for its valor which spurred further African American recruitment, giving the Union a numerical military advantage from a population the Confederacy did not dare exploit in that fashion until the closing days of the war.

Although Black soldiers proved themselves as reputable soldiers, discrimination in pay and other areas remained widespread. According to the Militia Act of 1862, soldiers of African descent were to receive $10.00 a month, plus a clothing allowance of $3.50. Many regiments struggled for equal pay, some refusing any money until June 15, 1864, when Congress granted equal pay for all Black soldiers.

African American soldiers participated in every major campaign of 1864–1865 except Sherman's Atlanta Campaign in Georgia. The year 1864 was especially eventful for African American troops. On April 12, 1864, at Battle of Fort Pillow, Tennessee, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest led his 2,500 men against the Union-held fortification, occupied by 292 Black and 285 white soldiers. After driving in the Union pickets and giving the garrison an opportunity to surrender, Forrest's men swarmed into the fort with little difficulty and drove the Federals down the river's bluff into a deadly crossfire. Casualties were high and only sixty-two of the U.S. Colored Troops survived the fight. Many accused the Confederates of perpetrating a massacre of Black troops, and the controversy continues today. The battle cry for the Negro soldier east of the Mississippi River became "Remember Fort Pillow!"

The propaganda which sprang from the allegations of a "massacre" at Fort Pillow was useful in convincing United States Colored Troops to become suicide forces which entered battle shouting "No quarter! No quarter!," never surrendered and who themselves perpetrated murders of surrendered Confederate forces in Florida and at Fort Blakley, Alabama, on April 9, 1865, at which battle they also shot two white Union officers who tried to stop them, killing one.

An 1864 investigation of Fort Pillow engaged in wholesale fabrication of "evidence" and included assertions that Black women and children had been murdered by Forrest's forces when there were no women or children present at Fort Pillow. A later 1871 Congressional investigation conducted during Reconstruction by Radical Republicans concluded that there was no evidence of a "massacre" and stated that there were "isolated incidents along the riverbank" which Forrest stopped immediately upon his arrival.

The barracks Forrest's men were accused of burning were actually burned under orders by a Union officer. Lieutenant Daniel Van Horn, Sixth U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery, whose report is contained in the Federal Official Records, documented that Lieutenant John D. Hill, U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery, set fire to the barracks under orders of the Union commanding officer.

Forrest took 39 United States Colored Troops (USCT) as POWs and sent them up the chain of command. Forrest even transferred the 14 most seriously wounded USCT to the U.S. Steamer Silver Cloud where they could get better care than that which he could provide.

Allegations of a "massacre" continue to be controversial because historians remain either willfully or blissfully unaware of the Federal Official Records and the 1871 Congressional investigation conclusion.

Christian Fleetwood at The Battle of Chaffin's Farm, Virginia became one of the most heroic engagements involving African Americans. On September 29, 1864, the African American division of the Eighteenth Corps, after being pinned down by Confederate artillery fire for about 30 minutes, charged the earthworks and rushed up the slopes of the heights. During the hour-long engagement the division suffered tremendous casualties. Of the twenty-five African Americans who were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Civil War, fourteen received the honor as a result of their actions at Chaffin's Farm.

Soldiers who fought in the Army of the James were eligible for the Butler Medal, commissioned by that army's commander, Benjamin Butler.

In actual numbers, African American soldiers comprised 10 percent of the entire Union Army. Losses among African Americans were high, and from all reported casualties, approximately one-third of all African Americans enrolled in the military lost their lives during the Civil War.

Blacks, both free and enslaved, were also heavily involved in assisting the Union in matters of intelligence, and their contributions were labelled, Black Dispatches.

Additional Sources

• Black Soldiers in Blue: African American Troops in the Civil War Era, by John David Smith. North Carolina, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002. At various libraries (WorldCat)
• Voices of Emancipation : Understanding Slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction Through the U.S. Pension Bureau files, by Elizabeth A. Regosin and Donald R. Shaffer, ed.. New York, New York : New York University Press, 2008. FS Catalog 973 H6re; At various libraries (WorldCat)
• The Black Military Experience, by Ira Berlin, editor; Joseph P. Reidy, associate editor; Leslie S. Rowland, associate editor. Cambridge, England : Cambridge University Press, c1982. FS Catalog book 973 M2bL; At various libraries (WorldCat
• Forgotten Warriors : New Jersey's African American Soldiers in the Civil War, by Joseph G. Bilby. Hightstown, New Jersey: Longstreet House, c1993. FS Library catalog 974.9 M2bil; At various libraries - (WorldCat)

Confederate States Army
Because of the controversial nature of the subject, the debate over how many African Americans served in Confederate uniform, and how many of them served willingly and without coercion is contentious. One estimate by Ed Smith of American University suggests that between 60,000 and 93,000 Blacks, both free and enslaved, served in the Confederate military in some capacity; however, the vast majority of these were likely teamsters, cooks, musicians, and hospital attendants.

"Almost fifty years before the (Civil) War, the South was already enlisting and utilizing Black manpower, including Black commissioned officers, for the defense of their respective states. Therefore, the fact that free and enslaved Black Southerners served and fought for their states in the Confederacy cannot be considered an unusual instance, rather continuation of an established practice with verifiable historical precedence."

There were many recorded instances of combat service of Black Confederates which can be found in the Federal Official Records, Northern and Southern newspapers and the letters and diaries of soldiers from both sides. In addition, there are recorded instances of Black Southerners serving as regularly enlisted combat soldiers before the Union allowed enlistment of Blacks.

Elgin (Illinois) Daily Courier-News, Monday, April 12, 1948 - "Robert (Uncle Bob) Wilson, Negro veteran of the Confederate army who observed his 112th birthday last January 13, died early yesterday morning in the veterans' hospital at the Elgin State hospital.... He enlisted as a private in Company H of the 16th regiment of Virginia Infantry on October 9, 1862, and discharged May 31, 1863."

For most of the war, the Confederate Government prohibited the enlistment of African Americans as armed soldiers in the national army, but the states and individual units often varied from or ignored outright such prohibitions since there were actually very few "national army" regiments at any time during the war with most military units still under state command on loan to the Confederate government.

The keywords in discussing "official Confederate policy" regarding Black soldiers are "national army." States still controlled their military policies within the Confederate command structure but, unlike the Union, did not surrender total control of their forces as part of a "national army."

The Confederate Congress authorized salaries for Black musicians in 1862, stating "whenever colored persons are employed as musicians in any regiment or company, they shall be entitled to the same pay now allowed by law to musicians regularly enlisted."

Some individual states in the Confederacy permitted free Blacks to enlist as soldiers in their state militias continuing a longstanding tradition. The first to do so was Tennessee, which passed a law on June 21, 1861, authorizing the recruitment of state militia units composed of Free People of Color between the ages of 15 and 50. Louisiana, which had a sizable free Black population, followed suit and assembled the all-Black 1st Louisiana Native Guard. This regiment was later forced to disband in February 1862 when the state legislature passed a law in January 1862, that reorganized the militia by conscripting "all the free white males capable of bearing arms… irrespective of nationality."

Captured Union African American soldiers, however, were not treated with equality by Confederate troops as white troops. It is a popularly held folk legend unsupported by documentation that those who were captured were summarily put to death along with any white Union officers who were captured having led them into battle - this was a policy stated, but not put into practice - by the Confederacy. In reality, Black Union soldiers who were captured were treated as enslaved runaways and, if their slaveholders could be located, returned to them. If the slaveholders could not be located, they were put to work to support the Confederate war effort.

Alabama authorized the enlistment of "mixed blood" creoles in 1862 for a state militia unit in Mobile.

Black Southerners served as combat soldiers often with some of the most celebrated and feared Confederate commands and commanders:

In the Federal Official Records, Series I, Vol XVI Part I, pg. 805, Lt. Col. Parkhurst's Report (Ninth Michigan Infantry) on General Forrest's attack at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, July 13, 1862 in the following: "The forces attacking my camp were the First Regiment Texas Rangers [8th Texas Cavalry, Terry's Texas Rangers, ed.], Colonel Wharton, and a battalion of the First Georgia Rangers, Colonel Morrison, and a large number of citizens of Rutherford County, many of whom had recently taken the oath of allegiance to the United States Government. There were also many Negroes attached to the Texas and Georgia troops, who were armed and equipped, and took part in the several engagements with my forces during the day."

In January 1864, General Patrick Cleburne and several other Confederate officers in the Army of the Tennessee proposed using enslaved persons as soldiers in the national army since the Union was using Black troops. Cleburne recommended offering the enslaved their freedom if they fought and survived. Confederate President Jefferson Davis refused to consider Cleburne's proposal and forbade further discussion of the idea.

The concept, however, did not die. By the fall of 1864, the South was losing more and more ground, and some believed that only by arming the enslaved, could defeat be averted. On January 11, 1865, General Robert E. Lee wrote the Confederate Congress urging them to arm and enlist enslaved Blacks in exchange for their freedom. On March 13, the Confederate Congress passed General Order 14, and President Davis signed the order into law. The order was issued March 23, 1865, but only a few African American companies were raised. Two companies were armed and drilled in the streets of Richmond, Virginia shortly before the besieged southern capital fell.

Despite popular legend, there is documentary evidence that they did see limited combat service:

• Richmond Sentinel, March 21, 1865 - "THE BATTALION from Camps Winder and Jackson, under the command of Dr. Chambliss, including the company of colored troops under Captain Grimes, will parade on the square on Wednesday evening, at 4 o’clock. This is the first company of negro troops raised in Virginia. It was organized about a month since, by Dr. Chambliss, from the employees of the hospitals, and served on the lines during the recent Sheridan raid."
• One of the units accompanied General Lee's retreat toward Appomattox and fought at the battle of Amelia, Virginia two days before Lee's surrender.

• Report of the General Superintendent of Freedmen],Unites States Army Dept. of the Tennessee, General Superintendent of Freedmen. Memphis, Tennessee: n.p., 1865. Online at: Internet Archive
• Cheerful Yesterdays, by Thomas Wentworth Higginson. New York, Arno Press, 1968, 374 pages. Series: The American Negro; his history and literature. At various libraries (WorldCat); Online at: GoogleBooks, Internet Archive.

National Archives

• A&IGO -- Register of Slaves Impressed, 1864-1865. RG 109 War Department Collection of Confederate Records. NAID 7970737, National Archives Catalog.

See also: Black Prisoners in Confederate Prisons During the Civil War with Bob J. O'Connor (Blog Talk Radio)

Indian Wars (1780s-1890s)

From the 1870s to the early 20th Century, African American units were utilized by the United States Government to combat the Native Americans during the Indian Wars. Perhaps the most noted among this group were the Buffalo Soldiers.

At the end of the U.S. Civil War the army reorganized and authorized the formation of two regiments of Black cavalry with the designations 9th and 10th U. S. Cavalry. Two regiments of infantry were formed at the same time. These units were composed of Black enlisted men commanded by white officers such as Benjamin Grierson, and, occasionally, an African American officer such as Henry O. Flipper.

From 1866 to the early-1890s these regiments served at a variety of posts in the southwest United States and Great Plains regions. During this period, they participated in most of the military campaigns in these areas and earned a distinguished record. Thirteen enlisted men and six officers from these four regiments earned the Medal of Honor during the Indian Wars. In addition to the military campaigns, the "Buffalo Soldiers" served a variety of roles along the frontier from building roads to escorting the U.S. mail.

• The Black regulars, 1866-1898, by William A. Dobak and Thomas D. Phillips. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, c2001. FS Catalog 973 F2dw; At various libraries (WorldCat)
• "Researching African Americans in the U.S. Army, 1866-1890," by Trevor K Plante. Prologue: The Journal of the National Archives 33 (Spring, 2001): 56-61. FS Library book 973 B2p v.33 2001

Buffalo Soldiers

On July 28, 1866, Congress passed an act that authorized the army to raise six regiments of African American soldiers. These six regiments became known as the Buffalo Soldiers, men who served with distinction on the Western frontier. They were named Buffalo Soldiers by the Indians because their curly hair resembled that of a buffalo.

The six regiments became:

• 9th and 10 Cavalries - United States Army Cavalry 10th, Troop H, 1866-1898 (stationed at Fort Davis, Texas), by Harold R. Sayre. FS Library book 973 M2sw
• 38th, 39th, 40th and 41st Infantry Regiments

• In 1869 the Infantry Regiments were reorganized:

• 38th and 41st became the 24th Infantry Regiment
• 39th and 40th became the 25th Infantry Regiment

Microfilmed Military Records Containing Records of Buffalo Soldiers and Others Available Through the FamilySearch Library Pension Records

Pension Records: records authorizing distribution of benefits of service, generally contain personal and genealogical information. Soldiers application: name, rank, place of residence, age, birth date, and time of service Widow's application: contains the above, and her information; place of residence, maiden name, date and place of marriage and the date and place of husband's death. A Child/Heir application: information about both soldier and widow's death.	Record Group	NARA #	FHL 1st film	Number of films
General Index to Pensions Files, 1861-1934. Arranged alphabetically by last name of the soldier.	15	T 288	FS Catalog Films: 540757 (first film of 544)	544 films
Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861-1900. Arranged by unit (regiment) and there under alphabetically by the soldier's surname. Both the General and the Organization Index to Pensions should be searched. Rolls 705-706 for the 9th Calvary FS Catalog Films: 1726194-1726196 Rolls 706-707 for the 10th Calvary FS Catalog Film: 1726196 Rolls 669-671 for 24th InfantryFS Catalog Films: 1726159-1726161 Rolls 671-672 for 25th Infantry FS Catalog Films: 1726161-1726162 Roll 677 for 38th and 39th Infantries FS Catalog Films: 1726165-1726167 Rolls 677-678 for 40th Infantry FS Catalog Films:1726167-1726168 Roll 678 for 41st Infantry FS Catalog Film: 1726168	15	T289	FS Catalog Film:1725491 (first film of 765)	765 films
Veteran's Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907-1933. Arranged alphbetically by surname, The Payment cards, document amounts and dates of pension payments	15	M850	FS Catalog Films:1634036 (first film of 2539)	2539 films

Cavalry and Infantry Returns

The unit returns are monthly reports of the U.S. Army regiments. Content: list the post and regiment assigned, company commanders, strength of company, list of absent, sick, arrested, and those confined to quarters or detailed to another assigment.	Record Group	NARA #	FHL 1st film	Number of films
Returns from Regular Army Cavalry Regiments, 1833-1916. Rolls 87-94 for 9th Cavalry FS Catalog Films: 1503463-1503465 and FS Catalog Films:1602194-1602198 Rolls 95-102 for 10th Cavalry FS Catalog Films:1602199-1602206	94	M744	FS Catalog Film:1602108 (first film of 117)	117 films
Returns from Regular Army Infantry Regiments, June 1821-December 1916. For years 1866-1869: Roll 293 for 38th Infantry Regiment FS Catalog Film: 1579524 Roll 294 for 39th Infantry Regiment FS Catalog Film: 1579525 Roll 295 for 40th Infantry Regiment FS Catalog Film: 1579526 Roll 296 for 41st Infantry Regiment FS Catalog Film: 1579527 * For years 1869-1916: Rolls 245-253 for 24th Infantry Regiment FS Catalog Films: 1579476-1579484 Rolls 254-261 for 25th Infantry Regiment FS Catalog Films: 1579485-1579492	94	M665	FS Catalog Film:1579232 (first film of 300)	300 films

Register of Enlistments

Register of Enlistments: these records document a soldier's enlistment	Record Group	NARA #	FHL 1st film	Number of films
Register of Enlistments in the United States Army, 1798-1914. Content:description of each term of service, date of enlistment, age, occupation and personal description. Arranged chronologically into several dates spans,then alphabetically by the first letter of the soldier's surname. Soldiers that enlisted more than once will have an enlistment paper for each enlistment.	94	M233	FS Catalog Film: 350307 (first film of 81)	81 films
Negro in Military Service Another filming: FS Catalog Films:928594-928597	----	M858	FS Catalog Film:1299300 (first film of 3)	3 films

Officer Commissions

Officer Commissions	Record Group	NARA #	FHL 1st film	Number of films
Letters Received by the Appointment, Commission and Personal Branch, Adjutant General's Office, 1871-1894. This microfiche collection reproduces select files from the Adjutant General's Appointment, Commision and Personal (ACP)Branch Files	94	M1395	Not at FS Library	1,693 fiche
Name and Subject Index to the Letters Received by the Appointment, Commission and Personal Branch of the Adjutant Generals' Office 1871-1894.	94	M1125	FS Catalog Film:1578432 (first film of 4)	4 films
Letters Received by the Commission Branch of the Adjutant Generals' Office, 1863-1870.	94	M1064	FS Catalog Film: 1758472 (first film of 478)	478 films

Post Returns

Military post returns give the units stationed at a particular post, the strength, names and duties of officers and the number of officers and soldiers absent and a record of events	Record Group	NARA #	FHL 1st film	Number of films
Returns From U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1916.	94	M617	FS Catalog Film: 1663081 (first film of 1550)	1550 films

Military Academy

Miliatary Academy	Record Group	NARA #	FHL 1st film	Number of films
Black Nominees for Application to the U.S. Military Academy 1870-1887.	----	M1002	FS Catalog Film:1534346 (first film of 21)	21 films

Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor	Record Group	NARA	FHL 1st film	Number of films
Documents Relating to the Military and Naval Service of Blacks Awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor from the Civil War to the Spanish American War.	---	M929	FS Catalog Film: 1601548 (first film of 4)	4 films

Court Martial

Court Martial Contain information about proceedings or testimony of cases brought before a military court	Record Group	NARA #	FHL 1st film	Number of films
Register of the Records of the Proceedings of the U.S. Army General Court-Martial 1809-1890.	153	M1105	FS Catalog Film: 1605405 (first film of 8)	8 films

Spanish-American War (1898)

Segregated company during the Spanish-American War after the Indian Wars ended in the 1890s, the regiments continued to serve and participated in the Spanish-American War (including the Battle of San Juan Hill), where five more Medals of Honor were earned. They took part in the 1916 Punitive Expedition into Mexico and in the Philippine-American War.

Units

In addition to the African Americans who served in Regular Amy units during the Spanish American War, five African American Volunteer Army units and seven African American National Guard units also served.

Volunteer Army:

• 7th United States Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
• 8th United States Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
• 9th United States Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
• 10th United States Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
• 11th United States Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)

National Guard:

• 3rd Alabama Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
• 8th Illinois Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
• Companies A and B, 1st Indiana Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
• 23rd Kansas Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
• 3rd North Carolina Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
• 9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)
• 6th Virginia Volunteer Infantry (Colored Troops)

Of these units, only the 9th U.S., 8th Illinois, and 23rd Kansas served outside the United States during the war. All three units served in Cuba and suffered no losses to combat.

World War I (1917-1918)

Officers of the 366th Infantry Regiment returning home from WWI service. The U.S. armed forces remained segregated through World War I. Still, many African Americans eagerly volunteered to join the Allied cause following America's entry into the war. By the time of the armistice with Germany on November 1918, over 350,000 African Americans had served with the American Expeditionary Force in on the Western Front.

Most African American units were largely relegated to support roles and saw little combat. Still, African Americans played a major role in America's war effort. One of the most distinguished units was the 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the "Harlem Hellfighters," which was on the front lines for six months, longer then any other African American regiment in the war. One hundred seventy-one members of the 396th were awarded the Legion of Merit.

Corporal Freddie Stowers of the 371st Infantry Regiment was posthumously awarded a Medal of Honor—the only African American to be so honored for actions in World War I. During action in France, Stowers had led an assault on German trenches, continuing to lead and encourage his men even after being twice wounded. Stowers died from his wounds, but his men continued the fight and eventually defeated the German troops. Stowers was recommended for the Medal of Honor shortly after his death, but the nomination was, according to the Army, misplaced.

Many, believing that the recommendation was intentionally ignored due to institutional racism in the Armed Forces. In 1990, under direction from Congress, the Department of the Army launched an investigation. Based on findings from this investigation, the Army Decorations Board approved the award of the Medal of Honor to Stowers. On April 24, 1991—73 years after he was killed in action—Stowers' two surviving sisters received the Medal of Honor from President George H.W. Bush at the White House. The success of the investigation leading to Stowers' Medal of Honor later sparked a similar review that resulted in seven African Americans being awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in World War II.

Units
Some of the most notable African American units which served in World War I were:

• 92nd Infantry Division
• 366th Infantry Regiment
• 93d Infantry Division
• 369th Infantry Regiment (Harlem Hellfighters)
• 371st Infantry Regiment

• Complete History of the Colored Soldiers in the World War; New York City: Bennett & Churchill, 1919. 'Online it:' Internet Archive
• African American Doctors of World War I : the lives of 104 volunteers, by W. Douglas Fisher and Joann H. Buckley. Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company Inc., Publishers, 2016. FS Catalog book 973 M26fw; At various libraries (WorldCat)
  

Second Italo-Abyssinian War
On October 4, 1935, Fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia. African Americans organized to raise money for medical supplies, and many volunteered to fight for the African kingdom.[1] Within eight months however, it would be overpowered by the advanced weaponry and mustard gas of the Italian forces.

Many years later Haile Selassie I would comment on the efforts: "We can never forget the help Ethiopia received from Negro Americans during the crisis... It moved me to know that Americans of African descent did not abandon their embattled brothers, but stood by us."

Spanish Civil War
African American activist and World War I veteran Oliver Law, fighting in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War, is believed to have been the first African American officer to command white American troops.

Related Projects

• Stories of Courage, Tenacity, and Valor Told at George S. Robb Centre for the Study of the Great War, Park University
• Valor Medals Review at United States Foundation

for the Commemoration of the World Wars
Related Sources

• African American Army Officers of World War I, by Adam P. Wilson. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2015. FS Catalog Book 973 M2wap; At various libraries (WorldCat)

World War II (1941-1945)

Despite a high enlistment rate in the U.S. Army, African Americans were not treated equally. Racial tensions existed. At parades, church services, in transportation and canteens the races were kept separate.

Many soldiers of color served their country with distinction during World War II. Famous segregated units, such as the Tuskegee Airmen and U.S. 761st Tank Battalion proved their value in combat, leading to desegregation of all U.S. Armed Forces by order of President Harry S. Truman in July of 1948 via Executive Order 9981.

Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. served as commander of the famed Tuskegee Airmen during the War. He later went on to become the first African American general in the United States Air Force. His father, Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., had been the first African American Brigadier General in the Army (1940).

Doris Miller, a Navy mess attendant, was the first African American recipient of the Navy Cross, awarded for his actions during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Miller had voluntarily manned an anti-aircraft gun and fired at the Japanese aircraft, despite having no prior training in the weapon's use.

In 1944, the Golden Thirteen became the Navy's first African American commissioned officers.

In 1945, Frederick C. Branch became the first African American United States Marine Corps officer.

Units

Some of the most notable African American Army units which served in World War II were:

• 92nd Infantry Division
• U.S. 366th Infantry Regiment
• 93d Infantry Division
• 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion
• 761st Tank Battalion
• 332d Fighter Group (Tuskegee Airmen)
• 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion

Two segregated units were organized by the United States Marine Corps:

• 51st Defense Battalion. (Composite)
• 52nd Defense Battalion. (Composite)

Medal of Honor recipients

On January 13, 1997, President Bill Clinton, in a White House ceremony, awarded the nation's highest military honor — the Medal of Honor — to 7 African American servicemen who had served in World War II.

The only living recipient was:

• First Lieutenant Vernon Baker.

The posthumous recipients were:

• Major Charles L. Thomas
• First Lieutenant John R. Fox
• Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers
• Staff Sergeant Edward A. Carter, Jr.
• Private First Class Willy F. James, Jr.
• Private George Watson

Additional Sources

• African Americans in the United States Army in World War II, by Bryan D. Booker. Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland, 2012, 2008. FS Catalog book 973 M2bbd; At various libraries (WorldCat)
• African American World War II Casualties and Decorations in the Navy, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine, by Glenn A. Knoblock, Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company Inc., Publishers, ©2009. FS Catalog book 943 M2kg; At various libraries (WorldCat)

• National Archives. United States, military records : African-Americans in the military, 1945. Salt Lake City: Digitized by FamilySearch International, 2017. FS Library image nos. 101674491 - 101674511

Integration of the Armed Forces

In 1948, President Truman signed Executive Order 9981 integrating the military and mandating equality of treatment and opportunity. It also made it illegal, per military law, to make a racist remark. Desegregation of the military was not complete for several years, all-Black Army units persisted well into the Korean War.

In 1950, Lieutenant Leon Gilbert of the still segregated 24th Infantry Regiment was court martialed and sentenced to death for refusing to obey the orders of a white officer while serving in the Korean War. Gilbert maintained that the orders would have meant certain death for himself and the men in his command. The case led to world-wide protests and increased attention to segregation and racism in the U.S. military. Gilbert's sentence was commuted to twenty and later seventeen years of imprisonment; he served five years and was released.

The integration commanded by Truman's 1948 Executive Order extended to schools and neighborhoods as well as military units. Fifteen years after the Executive Order, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara issued Department of Defense Directive 5120.36. "Every military commander," the Directive mandates, "has the responsibility to oppose discriminatory practices affecting his men and their dependents and to foster equal opportunity for them, not only in areas under his immediate control, but also in nearby communities where they may gather in off-duty hours."

Although the directive was issued in 1963, it was not until 1967 that the first non-military establishment was declared off-limits. In 1970 the requirement that commanding officers first obtain permission from the Secretary of Defense was lifted, and areas were allowed to be declared housing areas off limits to military personnel by their commanding officer.

Korean War

Jesse L. Brown became the U.S. Navy's first Black aviator in October 1948. He was killed when his plane was shot down during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. He was unable to eject from his crippled F4U Corsair and crash-landed successfully. His injuries and damage to his aircraft prevented him from leaving the plane. A white squadron mate crash-landed his F4U Corsair near Brown and attempted to extricate Brown but could not and Brown died of his injuries. The U.S. Navy honored Jesse Brown by naming an escort ship after him — the U.S.S. Jesse L. Brown.

Related Sources

• Records of Military Agencies Relating to African Americans from the Post-World War I Period to the Korean War. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2000. Digital. At various libraries (WorldCat)

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War saw many great accomplishments by many African Americans, including twenty who received the Medal of Honor for their actions.

In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson presented the Medal of Honor to U.S. Army Specialist Five Lawrence Joel, for a "very special kind of courage — the unarmed heroism of compassion and service to others." Joel was the first living African American to receive the Medal of Honor since the Mexican–American War. He was a medic who in 1965 saved the lives of U.S. troops under ambush in Vietnam and defied direct orders to stay to the ground, walking through Viet Cong gunfire and tending to the troops despite being shot twice himself. The Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina is dedicated to his honor.

On August 21, 1968, with the posthumous award of the Medal of Honor, U.S. Marine James Anderson, Jr. became the first African American U.S. Marine recipient of the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions and sacrifice of life.

On December 10, 1968, U.S. Army Captain Riley Leroy Pitts became the first African American commissioned officer to be awarded the Medal of Honor. His medal was presented posthumously to his wife, Mrs. Eula Pitts, by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Post-Vietnam to Present Day

In 1989, President George H. W. Bush appointed Army General Colin Powell to the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, making Powell the highest ranking officer in the United States military. Powell was the first, and is so far the only, African American to hold that position. The Chairman serves as the chief military adviser to the President and the Secretary of Defense. During his tenure Powell oversaw the 1989 United States invasion of Panama to oust General Manuel Noriega and the 1990 to 1991 Gulf War against Iraq. General Powell's four-year term as Chairman ended in 1993.

General William E. "Kip" Ward was officially nominated as the first commander of the new United States Africa Command on July 10, 2007. He is currently Deputy Commander, United States European Command and the active military's only Black four-star general. According to the Pentagon, Africa Command will help "promote peace and security and respond to crises on the continent." It will also coordinate military support for other diplomatic and development programs.

Related FamilySearch Blog Articles

• Remembering the Harlem Hellfighters of World War I
• Remembering World War I
• Discover Your Ancestors in World War I Records
• Accessing US Soldiers’ Records for World War I

• Military Resources: Blacks in the Military at National Archives
• African American Heritage at National Archives

For Further Reading

• Documenting African Americans in the Records of Military Agencies. By Lisha Penn. Prologue 29 (Summer, 1997)
• Records of Military Agencies Relating to African Americans From the Post-World War I period to the Korean War. Compiled by Lisha B. Penn. Washington, D.C. : National Archives and Records Administration, 2006 FS Catalog book 973 J53r v. 105; At various libraries (WorldCat)
• Black Americans in Defense of their Nation. By Mark R. Salser. Portland, Oregon: National Book, 1992. FS Catalog book 973 M2smr; At various libraries (WorldCat)
• Services of Colored Americans in the Wars of 1776 and 1812. By William C. Nell. Philadelphia, PA.: A.M.E. Publishing Co., 1894.
• The Colored Regulars in the United States Army. Sketch of the History of the Colored Americans, and an Account of His Services in the Wars of the Country, from the Period of the Revolutionary War to 1899. By T.G. Steward. Philadelphia, A.M. E. Book Concern, 1904.

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