Holland, William

William Holland stands next to the Hazen Brigade Monument.

Quick Facts

Significance:

Sergeant - 111th United States Colored Infantry

Place of Birth:

Todd County, Kentucky

Date of Birth:

ca. 1834

Place of Death:

Cemetery Community, Rutherford County, Tennessee

Date of Death:

1909

Place of Burial:

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Cemetery Name:

Holland/Harlan Family Cemetery

William Holland was born enslaved to Benjamin Harlan ca. 1834 in Todd County, Kentucky. He escaped his bondage in 1864 and enlisted in the 3rd Alabama Infantry of African Descent which later became part of the 111th United States Colored Infantry (USCI). Holland rose to the rank of sergeant and saw combat with the 111th USCI on September 23-24, 1864 at Athens, Alabama where he was captured and re-enslaved as a servant to Dr. James Cowan, the Chief Surgeon of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry division.

In early 1865, Holland escaped and rejoined the 111th USCI in Murfreesboro where he and his comrades worked to reinter U.S. soldiers in Stones River National Cemetery from October 1865 through October 1866. William remained in the area after his discharge working as civilian caretaker in the national cemetery. He purchased land adjacent to the Hazen Brigade Cemetery and became part of the Freedmen's community called Cemetery. 

Holland passed away in 1909 and is buried on the land he owned with his grandson William Harlan. This photo of an elderly William Holland standing next to the Hazen Brigade Monument was donated by his descendant Elma Adkisson.