United States Colored Troops

Battle of New Market Heights

By David Norris

Reports of a massive enemy force crossing the James River to assail the paper-thin Confederate lines defending Richmond reached Lt. Read more

United States Colored Troops

The Crater: Explosion of Death

By John Walker

It was just after 3 am on Saturday, July 30, 1864. A month of relative quiet along a two-mile stretch of Union and Confederate trench lines immediately east of Petersburg, Virginia, was about to come to an explosive end. Read more

United States Colored Troops

The Fort Pillow Incident

By Roy Morris Jr.

When Confederate Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest and his 3,000 battle-hardened troopers rode back into their homeland of West Tennessee in late March 1864, they were not in the best of moods. Read more

United States Colored Troops

Book Review: Thunder at the Gates: The Black Civil War Regiments That Redeemed America

By Christopher Miskimon

The men of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment began a hard march at 8:30 am on February 20, 1864. Read more

United States Colored Troops

Blood on the Snow: The Battle of Nashville

By John Walker

For the black-skinned, blue-clad soldiers deployed on the extreme left flank of the Union Army outside Nashville, Tennessee, the order to advance announced at dawn on December 15, 1864, was a long time coming. Read more