History of Negro Soldiers in the Spanish-American War, and Other Items of InterestJohnson, Edward A. (Edward Austin)
History
History of Negro Soldiers in the Spanish-American War, and Other Items of Interest
Johnson, Edward A. (Edward Austin)
Spanish-American War, 1898 -- Participation, African American
By order of the Governor and Commander-in-Chief. (Signed) W. NALLE,
Adjutant-General.
* * * * *
Under date of June 1, 1898, S.O. 59, A.G.O., Richmond, Va., was
issued directly to the commanding officers of the First and Second
Battalion (colored), who had been specially designated by the
President in his call, ordering them to take the necessary steps to
recruit the companies of the respective battalions to eighty-three men
per company, directing that care be taken, to accept only men of good
repute and able-bodied, and that as soon as recruited the fact should
be reported by telegraph to the Adjutant-General of the State.
July 15th, 1898, Company "A," Attucks Guard, was the first company to
arrive at Camp Corbin, Va., ten miles below Richmond. The company
had three officers; Capt. W.A. Hawkins, First Lieutenant J.C. Smith,
Lieutenant John Parham.
The other companies followed in rapid succession. Company "B" (Carney
Guard), Capt. C.B. Nicholas; First Lieutenant L.J. Wyche, Second
Lieutenant J.W. Gilpin. Company "C" (State Guard), Capt. B.A.
Graves; First Lieutenant S.B. Randolph, Second Lieutenant W.H.
Anderson. Company "D" (Langston Guard), Capt. E.W. Gould; First
Lieutenant Chas. H. Robinson, Second Lieutenant Geo. W. Foreman.
Company "E" (Petersburg Guard), Capt. J.E. Hill; First Lieutenant
J.H. Hill, Second Lieutenant Fred. E. Manggrum. Company "F"
(Petersburg), Capt. Pleasant Webb; First Lieutenant Jno. K. Rice,
Second Lieutenant Richard Hill. Company "G," Capt. J.A. Stevens;
First Lieutenant E. Thomas Walker, Second Lieutenant David Worrell.
Company "H," Capt. Peter Shepperd, Jr.; First Lieutenant Jas. M.
Collins, Second Lieutenant Geo. T. Wright. The regiment consisted of
only eight companies, two battalions, commanded respectively by Major
J.B. Johnson and Maj. W.H. Johnson, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel
Rich'd C. Croxton, of the First United States Infantry. First
Lieutenant Chas. R. Alexander was Surgeon. Second Lieutenant Allen J.
Black, Assist Subsistence.
Lieutenant W.H. Anderson, Company "C," was detailed as Adjutant,
Ordinance Officer and Mustering Officer.
Lieutenant J.H. Gilpin, Company "B," was detailed as Quartermaster
and Commissary of Subsistance.
On Monday, September 12, 1898, the command left Camp Corbin, Va., and
embarked for Knoxville, Tenn., about 10 o'clock, the men traveling in
day coaches and the officers in Pullman sleepers. The train was in
two sections. Upon arrival at Knoxville the command was sent to Camp
Poland, near the Fourteenth Michigan Regiment, who were soon mustered
out. A few days after the arrival of the Sixth Virginia the Third
North Carolina arrived, a full regiment with every officer a Negro.
While here in order to get to the city our officers, wagons and men
had to pass the camp of the First Georgia Regiment, and it was quite
annoying to have to suffer from unnecessary delays in stores and other
things to which the men were subject.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account