Catherine (Kidd) Wilson
Originally published as “The 54th and 55th Regiments of Massachusetts Infantry” [Ohio Genealogical Society Report 34, no. 3 (1994): 139-149] and “History of the 127th O.V.I./5th U.S.C.T. and the 27th U.S.C.T.” [Leaves of Greene (Greene County Chapter, Ohio Genealogical Society) 19, no. 4 (1998)]; revised and combined 2024-25 by CKW.
The 54th and 55th regiments of Massachusetts infantry were the first Federal military units to be composed solely of men of African descent, except for their white officers. The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was portrayed in the 1989 movie Glory. All ten companies of the 54th were mustered in on various dates between 30 March and 13 May 1863. Too many men wanted to enlist, so the surplus troops were enrolled into the 55th during May and June 1863. Most of the recruits were from Massachusetts, but several more came from outside the state.
The 54th Massachusetts served in South Carolina and Florida, participating in battles at Fort Wagner and Olustee. Total loss of officers and men was 270 killed and wounded. The 55th regiment also served in South Carolina and Florida, and had a brief foray into Georgia in early 1865; their battles included Olustee, James Island, and Honey Hill. Total loss of officers and men was 197 killed and wounded. Information found in Roster of Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines, volume 4; includes age, residence, occupation, enlistment & muster out date, wounded/killed.
The 127th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was composed of African-American men as well, besides white officers. They mustered in between July 1863-January 1864, but were designated as the 5th United States Colored Troops (USCT) in November 1863; their service was in Virginia and North Carolina, with battles at City Point, Petersburg, and Wilmington. The 27th USCT was organized from January-August 1864, serving in Virginia and North Carolina with battles at Petersburg, Hatcher’s Run, and Fort Fisher. Information from Roster of Ohio Soldiers 1861-1865, volume 1, and Ohio Adjutant-General War Records. Other units in which Greene County men served were the United States Colored Heavy Artillery (USCHA), US Colored Cavalry (USCC), and United States Colored Infantry (USCI; sometimes interchangeable with USCT).
Newspaper sources
John Mercer Langston (1829-1897) was born into slavery in Virginia, son of Ralph Quarles (free white plantation owner) and Lucy Langston (enslaved person, later freed), and graduated from Oberlin College; he also read law, was admitted to the Ohio bar, and as clerk of Brownhelm Twp in Lorain County in 1855, was said to be the first Black man elected to public office in the U.S. In 1860, he and his brother C. M. attended the first anniversary celebration of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, held in Xenia, and in 1862 spoke here on the August anniversary of British Emancipation. He returned to Xenia in May 1863, also visiting Cedarville, and left Greene County with about thirty recruits and sixty dollars raised from locals to help buy a flag and banner for the regiment (Xenia Torchlight, 13 May 1863).
There are at least three letters written by James C. Hewett of the 54th Massachusetts to the Xenia Torchlight in 1863 and 1864, full of details of battles, camp life, and the men with whom he served. His description of the battle at Gainesville FL is especially moving. “Our little Xenia band stood up like men, and do not intend to disgrace its name by cowardice.”
Xenia Sentinel, 24 Feb 1865: “About sixty of the colored citizens of Xenia have entered the army since the date of the last call for men.” Of course none of them are named. A Xenia Torchlight article, “From School District No. 3” (7 March 1866) mentions 7 colored along with 27 white soldiers from that area in Greene County: Isaac Steems, Andrew Lad, Benjamin Lad, Wallace La Fayette, Alexander Sanford, Sandy Howard, and Weston Louis. LaFayette was killed at Honey Hill; Sanford also died sometime during the war, but there is a fold in the microfilmed paper obscuring the place. Xenia Torchlight of 26 May 1869 lists names of 8 soldier graves in the colored cemetery that are to be decorated. Notable from these articles is that not all these men show up on published lists in various sources.
Additional sources
Some men were counted in the 1890 special census of Civil War veterans and their widows; I have checked enumeration districts 126 through 133 (city of Xenia + Xenia Twp). Not all of these enlisted from Greene Co but were living here at least in 1890.
Several tables follow, too long for publication here. About 265 names appear on these; some appear to be duplicates with a slightly different spelling [Gilbert/Guilbert for instance] or the addition of a middle initial [George A./N. Washington]. A few men enlisted under aliases, reasons unknown. There is always research out there that may uncover still more of these men, who sacrificed to ensure their rights as much as any white soldier who wanted to keep the Union together.