Hi, my name is Brian Mayhew, park ranger at Fort Scott National Historic Site
Perhaps you have seen the movie “Glory”. It depicts the story of the 54th Massachusetts
Infantry as the first African American regiment in the US Army. However, Hollywood doesn’t
always get it right! The First Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment was mustered into
the U.S. Army on January 13, 1863 right here in Fort Scott, Kansas, a whole 4 and a half months
before the 54th Massachusetts. Organized as a state unit five months prior, men of the
First Kansas became the first African Americans in the U.S. Army to go into combat and to
give their lives in battle. Kansas Senator and General James Lane began
recruiting the African American soldiers in August 1862. Most of the recruits were freed
slaves from Missouri or escaped slaves from Missouri and Arkansas. Because of this, many
African Americans were proud to serve for the Union. They felt it was their duty to
fight against the Confederacy and the powers that had enslaved and oppressed their people
for generations. The arming of black troops was not popular in the North, however. Even
President Lincoln was concerned the Border States would secede if the Union allowed black
troops in the army. This did not stop Gen. Lane from recruiting these men. The Fort Scott
Bulletin reported on August 16, 1862, “Colored Regiments – Gen. Lane is still going on
with the work of organizing two Colored Regiments, notwithstanding the refusal of the President
to accept black soldiers. Last Tuesday about 50 recruits were raised here.”
The first battle in which African American soldiers served in combat took place at the
Battle of Island Mound, Missouri on October 29, 1862. 225 African American troops faced
500 Confederates. Although the 1st Kansas lost 10 men and 12 more were injured, they
drove off the Confederates. While the engagement was not of great importance militarily, its
historical and psychological importance should not be underestimated. The performance of
the 1st Kansas helped encourage the enlistment of black troops and their eventual use as
Union regulars. Guerrilla Chieftain Bill Turman said of the soldiers that “the black devils
fought like tigers.” Some of the African American soldiers were
officers in the first Kansas Colored before it was mustered into the Union Army in January
1863. Captain William Matthews and Lieutenant Patrick Minor were two of these men. Both
men were leaders in the Battle of Island Mound and well respected and liked by their troops
and from fellow white officers. However, when the 1st Kansas was mustered into the Union
army at Fort Scott in 1863, these men could no longer serve as officers and had to enlist
as privates. There were other problems that the soldiers
of the 1st Kansas faced. White soldiers were not always fond of serving along side of African
Americans. Regiments were segregated and lead by white officers. There was a significant
discrepancy in pay as well. Black soldiers received $10 per month, and had $3 deducted
from their pay for clothing, while white soldiers of the same rank received $13 per month, and
were given a $3.50 clothing allowance. Confederate troops were also harsh against African American
soldiers, as well as their white commanders. The Confederate Congress threatened to punish
severely the officers of black troops. Soldiers captured from black units were given no quarter,
meaning that they would not held as prisoners of war, but would be executed or returned
to slavery. The 1st Kansas was just one of 163 African
American units that served in the Union Army during the Civil War; the number of men serving
in these units totaled approximately 185,000. Both free African Americans and runaway slaves
joined the army. African Americans units fought in every major campaign in 1864-1865 except
Sherman’s invasion of Georgia. African Americans made up approximately 10% of the Union Army,
and suffered high casualties. Nearly one in three African Americans that enrolled in the
military lost their lives in the Civil War. Famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass is quoted
as saying…“once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters, U.S., let
him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket,
there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship.”