Title: Civil War Photograph

Date/Date Range :   circa 1864

Extent: .1 linear feet

Abstract:

This photograph displays African-American troops at a Civil War camp in Tennessee. The men are standing on a railroad car, pausing during the building of their camp. Full wagons, lumber, railroad tracks, and tents with fireplaces are visible.

Call number: MS-3049

Repository: University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN

Aquisition Information:

Collection purchased by UT Special Collections Library in January 2007.

Access Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Copyright:

The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library.

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of Item], Civil War Photograph, MS-3049. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.

Collection consists of one folder.

Congress allowed the enlistment of African-Americans in the American Civil War in 1862. Over 180,000 free African-Americans and runaway slaves (about 10% of the total Union Army troops) in 163 units served the Union Army. On April 12, 1864, General Nathan Bedford Forrest led his Confederate troops against the Union-held at Fort Pillow in Tennessee, occupied by 292 black and 285 white soldiers. Only sixty-two black Union troops survived, and many believe the Confederates held a massacre of the black troops. In the Battle of New Market Heights, Virginia, September 29, 1864, the 18th Corps division of black troops charged the Confederates, incurring a large casualty number. Fourteen of the sixteen African-Americans who won the Medal of Honor during the Civil War fought in this battle.

This photograph displays African-American troops at a Civil War camp in Tennessee. The men are standing on a railroad car, pausing during the building of their camp. Full wagons, lumber, railroad tracks, and tents with fireplaces are visible.

• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- African American troops.
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Photography.