We have added a new UK collection of Royal Navy Officer Patrol Service Cards to our archives. These cards are dated 1904-1970 and can provide insights for those who served in the Royal Navy Patrol Service (RNPS). These records were created from microfilm held at The National Archives, with the original paper records located at the Imperial War Museum.
The RNPS was a branch of the Royal Navy whose origins date back to the Great War when the British Admiralty first realized the threat of mine warfare. The RNPS operated during both the First and Second World Wars.
The RNPS had roots in the fishing industry. Officers in the RNPS were often recruits from the Royal Naval Reserve who started as fishermen during peacetime. They were accustomed to operating the winches and warps used by trawlers as they dragged their fishing nets across the bottom of the sea. During times of war, with fishing fleets inactive, the trawlermen were utilized for minesweeping and anti-submarine operations.
The RNPS operated a flotilla of small auxiliary vessels, primarily along the British coast. They protected coastal waters, merchant ships, and accompanied naval convoys in all theatres of war, including the Arctic and the Mediterranean.
The records in this collection consist of two cards per record. They are organized alphabetically by name and include additional information such as:
Birthdate
Birthplace
Name of parents
Physical description
Service dates
Names of the vessels
Additional details and remarks.
Royal Navy Officer Patrol Service Card for Peter Cormack
Explore this new collection of Royal Navy Officer Patrol Service Cards here and search additional UK military records on Fold3®.
On November 11, 1921, President Warren G. Harding presided over the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. The monument honored fallen U.S. servicemen from WWI whose remains were unidentified. The ceremony took place the same day the country was celebrating the newly declared Armistice Day holiday.
During WWI, the chaos of battle resulted in scores of unidentified dead servicemen. The creation of the memorial, also known as the Tomb of the Unknowns, was proposed in 1920 by New York Congressman and WWI veteran Hamilton Fish. Both Great Britain and France had dedicated similar monuments in 1920, and in March 1921, Congress approved the plan to build America’s tribute to unidentified fallen soldiers.
Construction begins on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, 1921
Officials wanted to choose one unknown serviceman and reinter him in a tomb at Arlington. To select that soldier, the bodies of four unidentified U.S. servicemen were exhumed from different American military cemeteries in France in October 1921. They were placed in identical caskets and brought to the city hall in Châlons-sur-Marne, France, where American war hero Sgt. Edward F. Younger selected one casket. With the backdrop of a dignified ceremony, officials placed the casket on board the USS Olympia to begin the journey home, arriving at the Washington Navy Yard on November 9, 1921.
After arrival, the Unknown lay in state in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, where on November 10, some 90,000 visitors waited in line to pay their respects. On the morning of November 11, a large funeral procession proceeded from the Capitol to Arlington. President Harding, former President Woodrow Wilson, and General John J. Pershing were among the dignitaries that participated in the procession.
Remains of the Unknown Soldier are lowered into the ground in 1921
After reaching Arlington, Americans across the country observed two minutes of silence. President Harding gave a speech and bestowed the Medal of Honor and Distinguished Service Cross on the Unknown Soldier; other nations also bestowed their highest awards. The funeral ended with the playing of Taps and a 21-gun salute.
At the time of burial, the tomb had yet to be completed and consisted of a simple marble slab. In 1932, the marble structure that now stands was installed. The tomb bears the inscription, “Here Rests in Honored Glory an American Soldier Known but to God.”
The tradition of guarding the tomb began in 1926, and in 1937, soldiers transitioned to a 24/7 presence at the memorial. The changing of the guard is a moving ceremony and takes place every 30 or 60 minutes, depending on the season.
In 1958, unknown soldiers representing the fallen of WWII and the Korean War were laid to rest at the monument. In 1984, a soldier from the Vietnam War was also interred in the tomb. However, through DNA testing, the body was positively identified in 1998 and returned to his family. The crypt designated for the Vietnam War Unknown remains vacant, and in 1999, it was rededicated to honor all missing U.S. service members from the Vietnam War.
As we mark the 100th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, we honor all who have served and sacrificed for their country. Search our archives for records on the military heroes in your life on Fold3® today.
During WWII, more than 500 U.S. military women lost their lives while serving their country. Our friends at Stories Behind the Stars are compiling their stories, and we’d like to share just a few.
Aleda E. Lutz
Aleda E. Lutz was the first American woman to die in combat during WWII. Lutz enlisted in the Army Air Forces Nurse Corp on February 10, 1942. She served in the 802nd Medical Air Evacuation Squadron and was part of a highly classified unit that used unmarked C-47 cargo planes to fly to the battlefront with supplies and return with the wounded. On November 1, 1944, 28-year-old Lutz was flying on a Medevac C-47 with nine wounded American soldiers and six wounded German POWs from Lyon, France, to a hospital in Italy. The pilot lost control in a violent storm, and the plane crashed near Saint-Chamond, France. There were no survivors. At the time of her death, Lutz had the most evacuation sorties (196), the most combat hours flown by a flight nurse (814), and the most patients transported by any flight nurse (3,500). Lutz was the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, the first given to an Army Nurse in WWII. She was also honored with the Air Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters and a Purple Heart, in addition to other commendations. The Aleda E. Lutz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center was named after her by Congressional decree.
Cornelia C. Fort
Cornelia C. Fort was a young civilian flight instructor from Tennessee. On the morning of December 7, 1941, she took off from John Rodgers Airport in Honolulu with a student. Fort noticed a military plane approaching from the sea. Suddenly, she realized that the plane was headed straight towards her on a collision course. Fort wrenched the controls from her student and managed to pull up just in time to avoid a collision. Just then, she noticed the red sun symbol on the plane and saw smoke rising over Pearl Harbor. Fort had just witnessed American’s entry into WWII. The following year, Fort joined the newly established Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Service (WAFs). She was thrilled to join the war effort and flew planes from factories to military airbases. Her work freed up male pilots for combat missions. On March 21, 1943, Fort was ferrying an airplane to Love Field in Dallas when another male pilot’s landing gear clipped her plane, sending it plummeting to earth. Fort died on impact. She was one of 38 female pilots who died flying military airplanes during the war.
Blanche F. Sigman
Blanche F. Sigman was working as a public health nurse in Brooklyn when she enlisted in United States Army Nurses Corps in 1942. She was assigned to the 95th Evacuation Hospital as a Chief Nurse. On September 13, 1943, Sigman was serving aboard the hospital ship for the Eighth Army, the HMHS Newfoundland, in the Gulf of Salerno, Italy, when German planes bombed the ship. She survived the attack and went on to serve in Italy during the Anzio campaign. Along with some 200 nurses, and while being bombarded, Sigman cared for 33,000 patients at Anzio. On February 7, 1944, a Luftwaffe pilot fleeing from a British fighter dropped a load of bombs on the hospital where Sigman was caring for the wounded. Sigman died in the attack. Fellow soldiers temporarily interred her body on the Anzio beachhead next to her patients. In 1948 she was reinterred in her hometown of Byesville, Ohio. A US Army Hospital Ship was named the Blanche Faye Sigman in her honor.
To see more stories of heroic women who lost their lives while serving during WWII, click here. These stories have been compiled by volunteers dedicated to telling the story of every fallen WWII soldier. If you would like to get involved, visit the Stories Behind the Stars website here. To learn more about WWII, search our complete collection of WWII records on Fold3® today!
October 4, 2021 by Jenny Ashcraft |
Comments Off on Reflections of a Civil War POW
More than 3 million soldiers fought in the Civil War, and each had a story to tell. Some of those stories have been preserved through personal journals. We recently came across the journal of Union Soldier William Hosack. William spent nine grueling months as a POW, first at Libby Prison and later at Andersonville and Florence Prison. His journal is housed in Special Collections at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Our special thanks to IUP for sharing William’s story with us.
William Hosack
William Hosack was born on February 10, 1843, in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. His father Samuel died when he was just 6, so the seven Hosack siblings were farmed out to various family members and neighbors. William lived with his grandfather until age 17, then moved to the nearby town of New Alexandria to learn the blacksmith trade before enlisting in the Union Army.
In 1861, William enlisted in the Pennsylvania 11th Reserve Infantry. He was just 18 and small in stature. Military officials refused to swear him in without the written consent of his mother, which he obtained. His first skirmish happened along the Potomac River near Washington, D.C. He was serving on picket duty and recalled that Union soldiers were on one side of the river and Confederate soldiers were on the other side.
“We were on friendly terms, and we met in the river and done trading until that Regiment was relieved by a South Carolina Regiment. The next morning as some of our men went to wash as usual, a comrade of Co. G was shot in the leg which was a signal for hostilities when a lively skirmish opened.”
During 1862, William’s Regiment fought in fierce battles, including the 2nd Battle of Bull Run, South Mountain, and Antietam. After Antietam, William said they returned to camp near Sharpsburg, “blanketless, shoeless, no money and with tattered uniforms.” He described a brutal winter with conditions that tried the endurance of the men. The following summer William’s regiment marched towards Gettysburg, arriving July 2, 1863. They fought on Little Round Top, and William poured volleys of buckshot upon the enemy, then charged them with his bayonet. He recollected that one of the last shots of Gettysburg was fired at him.
“Next morning at break of day – being the 4th of July – I got up cold, saw a blanket over the stone fence, I put it around me as was walking my beat when a rebel picket shot at me which was one of the last shots of the battle, as all the rebels army had retreated in the night and the picket line was last to leave and gave me a parting shot. I heard the ball pass my head.”
During the Battle of the Wilderness, in May 1864, William was shot in the heel of his shoe. Despite all the hardships he had endured thus far in the war, it did not compare to what was shortly to come. On May 30th, during the Battle of Bethesda Church, William was captured and taken prisoner. For the next nine months, he endured hunger, sickness, and every kind of deprivation before being liberated in March 1865. William was first taken to Libby Prison where his blanket and tent were confiscated. The guards demanded that prisoners turn over any money and searched each prisoner.
“I had seven dollars in green backs which I slipped in a hole in the sleeve of my comrade’s blouse. He was searched before me, and they failed to find the money. Then I was searched. I had $2.00 in their money, but they would not take that.”
William staked out a small space on the floor at Libby Prison and used his shoes as a pillow at night. He spent 11 days there before being transferred to Andersonville. The sights, sounds, and smells at Andersonville were shocking. Some prisoners had small tents, others had blankets that hung over a pole, but thousands had nothing and lay exposed on the bare ground.
Andersonville Prison 1865
“The suffering there was horrible from hunger and disease, starvation and death. The filth I will not attempt to describe. It is a miracle that we didn’t all die.”
A small, filthy stream ran through the center of the camp. As it was the only source of water, prisoners were forced to drink from it. Some started to dig wells, in hopes of reaching clean water. Other prisoners realized that escape might be possible by digging tunnels instead of wells. A few did escape, so guards forced them to fill in the wells. Prisoners survived on meager food rations which usually consisted of mush or boiled rice and cornbread, equaling about a pint of food a day. The deprivation brought out the worst in some.
“Some of our prisoners were very bad men, they went by the name of “Raiders”, would steal and murder for money. The prisoners formed a police force and arrested a bunch of raiders and organized a court as many prisoners were lawyers – and tried these men and convicted six of murder and were sentenced to be hung. I saw them drop, all at the same time. One man’s rope broke and he fell to the ground, but another rope was gotten and hung him again. It was a sad sight.”
Andersonville was extremely overcrowded. Prisoner deaths would average 100 per day. Scurvy caused much suffering and prisoners were covered with infected sores. William recalls that many just sat in the hot sun until relieved by death.
“Each morning a wagon was brought in to gather up the dead, the bodies were thrown on like that much wood until the load was full then taken to the cemetery and continued until all were gathered up.”
In October 1864, some prisoners including William were transferred to Florence Prison in South Carolina. William could hear bombs exploding in Charleston and recalled that prisoners cheered after each explosion. Winter was approaching and temperatures were dropping. William spent a cold winter sleeping on bare ground that was sometimes frozen. In December 1864, word spread that a big prisoner exchange was coming. William was sure he would be exchanged – but he wasn’t chosen.
“The gate was closed which was great disappointment to me, yet I determined to live it through if possible. Done all I could and prayed to God to help me. And he did help me.”
That help came in the form of sweet potatoes. William and a fellow prisoner traded a gold pen for 1 ½ bushels of sweet potatoes. They boiled the potatoes and ate a few, relishing each bite. He then sold the rest and earned a dollar. About this time, he was detailed to go outside the prison walls to build a smallpox hospital. On the outside, he took the dollar and purchased additional foodstuffs, allowing the prisoners to make a stew using cuts of meat nobody wanted, like cow stomach.
“I washed it the best I could, then cut it up in squares and boiled it until evening, then we tried to eat it. We could not masticate it, but we chewed it a while then swallowed it and the stomach done the rest. We never drew meat, except in Andersonville, for a time we drew spoiled bacon. Possibly they thought it good enough for the yanks.”
The food saved the lives of prisoners, who were on the verge of starvation. They were willing to eat anything. William recalled seeing prisoners pull the head of a dog out of a filthy swamp and roast it over the fire to pick off small pieces of meat.
William was determined to survive. He often thought of his widowed mother, and it gave him the incentive to keep going. He looked forward to reuniting with his family. Finally, in 1865, William was freed in a prisoner exchange. He was carried to a ship and transported to Annapolis, Maryland, where he was hospitalized. When sufficiently recuperated, William started for home and the reunion he had dreamed about.
“I arrived home at Blairsville and rapped on my mother’s back door and my sister was about to open the door, I opened it for myself. For a few moments mother nor sister knew me. Finally sister said it is “Will”. I need to say nothing more, you can imagine the rest.”
William Hosack went on to become a husband and father. He studied medicine and became a respected doctor. To learn more about the Civil War and the soldiers who fought in it, visit our Civil War collection on Fold3®.
October 2, 2021 by Jenny Ashcraft |
Comments Off on WWII’s Tokyo Rose
On October 6, 1949, 33-year-old Iva Toguri d’Aquino was convicted of treason, sentenced to 10 years in prison, and fined $10,000. Prosecutors claimed Aquino betrayed her country when she broadcast Japanese propaganda over Radio Tokyo to armed forces in the Pacific during WWII. Aquino always maintained her innocence, saying she was a scapegoat and not a traitor. She was released from prison early for good behavior and eventually pardoned by President Gerald Ford in the 1970s.
Iva Toguri d’Aquino
Born Ikuko Toguri in Los Angeles in 1916. She was the daughter of first-generation Japanese immigrants and attended public schools in California. After graduation, Aquino attended UCLA, where she earned a degree in Zoology. In July 1941, six months before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Aquino sailed to Japan to visit a sick aunt. Before she could return home, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and the U.S. was at war. Aquino found herself stuck in Japan. Eventually, she got a typist job at Radio Tokyo and later started working as a broadcaster.
Radio Tokyo broadcast a show called Zero Hour. It was an English-language program meant to chip away at the morale of Allied soldiers. Ironically, soldiers looked forward to the farcical Japanese propaganda and catchy music. It was a way to break up the monotony of their duties. Americans especially loved hearing from Aquino, who broadcast under the pseudonym “Orphan Ann.” Her absurd broadcasts always left them chuckling. Soldiers nicknamed her “Tokyo Rose.”
Iva Toguri d’Aquino mugshot
While working at Radio Tokyo, Aquino became acquainted with an Australian POW who helped produce the show. He was a successful radio announcer before the war, and together with Aquino, wrote scripts that berated Allied soldiers in such an exaggerated way as to be comical. In April 1945, Aquino married Felipe Aquino in Japan. When the war ended, Aquino wanted to return home, but she was in dire financial straits.
In the meantime, U.S. military officials began tracking down those that might be guilty of war crimes. Two reporters tried to find “Tokyo Rose,” and following some leads, located Aquino. They offered her money for exclusive rights to her story. Aquino accepted (although she never got paid), and her story came to the attention of the military officials and a grand jury who indicted her. They returned her to the U.S., where she was arrested and charged with treason. Aquino maintained that her broadcasts were meant to undermine the Japanese government. She was found guilty and sent to prison.
After six years, Aquino was released for good behavior. She moved to Chicago and worked in her family-owned store. Twenty years later, two witnesses who testified at her original trial came forward to say they had been pressured to testify against her. Public opinion and anti-Japanese sentiment had changed, and in 1977, President Gerald Ford pardoned Aquino. She died in 2006 in Chicago.
If you would like to learn more about Tokyo Rose or WWII, search Fold3® today.
In November 1943, a C-53 transport plane loaded with 13 medics, 13 flight nurses, and four aircrew members left Sicily headed for Bari, Italy. Their mission was to transport wounded soldiers to hospitals farther away from the front lines. A storm, combined with a run-in with German fighter planes, forced them off course. The airplane crash-landed in Nazi-occupied Albania, and the survivors spent nine harrowing weeks trekking 800 miles across Albania. They encountered severe challenges and narrowly escaped death. The majority reached freedom on January 9, 1944. Three nurses who became separated from the group did not get rescued until March 21, 1944.
Aircrew of plane forced down in Albania
On the rainy morning of November 13, 1943, the crew, medics, and flight nurses from the 807th Medical Air Evacuation Transport Squadron boarded a C-53D for the two-hour flight from Sicily to Bari. Bad weather had grounded the flight for the three previous days, and the number of injured needing transport to areas with better medical care was increasing. When the plane left Sicily, the skies had cleared, and visibility was good.
As they neared Bari, the skies turned dark. Pilot Charles B. Thrasher saw ominous clouds ahead. They flew into a violent storm and lost all communications with the ground station at Bari. Thrasher decided to ascend above the clouds, but when they reached an altitude of about 8,000 feet, the wings began to ice up. He quickly descended. Disoriented, he flew for three and a half hours before spotting a coastline through broken clouds. Assuming they had reached the western coast of Italy, Thrasher and co-pilot Lt. James Baggs began looking for a place to land. Spotting what appeared to be an abandoned airfield, he began an approach. Suddenly, tracer bullets began screaming past the aircraft window. Dodging German fighters, Thrasher ducked into a cloud and flew for another hour through overcast skies.
With the plane’s fuel was running low, they began looking for a place to land. They eventually saw a flat spot and crash-landed the C-53. Fortunately, nobody was seriously injured. As the group disembarked the aircraft, members of an Albanian resistance met them and informed them that they’d crossed the Adriatic Sea and were in Nazi-occupied Albania. The partisans led them to a nearby town, but they had to flee when a German detachment approached. While walking down a road, three Messerschmitt 109’s dive-bombed and strafed the group as they ran for cover. British officers were operating in the country, and the partisans let them know that Americans were in the area. One British officer was assigned to serve as a guide for the group. Later they were met by an American officer who had been sent into Albania to lead them out.
Group of ten of the nurses who escaped Albania recover after their ordeal
Early on, three nurses became separated during a chaotic German attack. A wealthy Albanian family in the town of Berat sheltered the nurses in the basement and later helped them escape disguised as civilians. It would take that trio nearly five months to reach Allied lines. They crossed the mountains on donkeys, and when they finally reached the coast, an Allied torpedo boat skirted them to safety.
For the next two months, the remaining group walked up to seven hours a day. Sometimes the snow was knee-deep. Their journey took them across Albania’s second-highest mountain peak during a raging blizzard. As they journeyed, kind Albanians shared their meager food and lodging with them. Several times military officials attempted to extract the group, but German forces intervened and made rescue impossible. As weeks passed, the nurses’ shoes wore thin. The group suffered frostbite, hunger, dysentery, jaundice, and pneumonia. The nurses demonstrated determination and grit and gained the admiration of all.
Nurses who escaped Albania show their worn shoes
On January 9, 1944, the group finally made it to the coast and rendezvoused with rescuers who rowed them out to a British launch, and they were transported to Bari, Italy. The trio of separated nurses arrived at Otranto, Italy, on March 21, 1944. All of those rescued were forbidden to talk about their experiences. Officials feared it would endanger the lives of those who helped them. The 800-mile hike proved the Army nurses’ ability to withstand hardships during the war.
To learn more about this and other World War II stories of heroism, search Fold3® today.
On September 29, 1864, Black soldiers serving in the U.S. Colored Troops (USCTs) led an assault against Confederate defenses protecting Richmond during the Battle of New Market Heights. New Market Heights was part of the larger Battle of Chaffin’s Farm. It included fighting at Fort Harrison, Fort Gilmer, and Laurel Hill. During this battle, two brigades of the USCTs proved their heroism, fought courageously and captured New Market Heights. Fourteen soldiers from the USCTs earned Medals of Honor for gallantry.
Battle of Chaffin’s Farm
In September 1864, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant approved a plan to send Union Major General Benjamin F. Butler’s Army of the James to break through Confederate defenses guarding the Confederate capital of Richmond. Included in the 20,000 Union troops were some 4,500 Black soldiers fighting in the USCTs.
The offensive consisted of a two-pronged attack, which called for Major General Edward Ord’s XVIII Corps to cross the James River at Aiken’s Landing and move toward the Confederate-held Fort Harrison. Fort Harrison was later captured and renamed Fort Burnham.
The second prong, and focus here, is Maj. Gen. David B. Birney’s X Corps, and Brigadier General Charles J. Paine’s USCT regiments (who were detailed from the XVIII Corps but operating with the X Corps that morning).
At dawn on September 29th, Paine’s division, spearheaded by the 4th and 6th USCTs (Third Brigade), crossed the James River at Deep Bottom Landing. Their objective was to take New Market Heights. That would give them control of New Market Road, which led directly to Richmond. As they advanced towards New Market Road, the division came under heavy fire from Confederate earthwork defenses. After heavy losses of half their forces, the Union brigade withdrew.
36th USCTs, Company I
Next, the Second Brigade, consisting of the 5th, 36th, and 38th USCTs, advanced. They also engaged in brutal fighting and lost more than 1/3 of their forces before finding an opening and bursting through the Confederate line. They advanced up New Market Heights while the Confederates retreated toward Richmond.
When the battle was over, the Union Army suffered an estimated 3,300 casualties for soldiers fighting north of the James River on September 29-30. Confederate casualties numbered 1,750. Soldiers from the USCTs proved their mettle. Over and over, as color-bearers and white commanding officers were shot down, Black soldiers stepped up to retrieve the colors and lead the troops. During the entire Civil War, only 16 Black soldiers received the Medal of Honor. Fourteen of those were awarded to soldiers after the Battle of New Market Heights.
Following are short bios for each of the 14 members of the USCTs awarded Medals of Honor for their actions that day:
William H. Barnes was born in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, and enlisted in the 38th Regiment of the USCT, Company G, on July 2, 1864, at age 19. He was 5’4” and listed his occupation as a farmer. During the Battle of New Market Heights, Barnes was “among the first to enter the enemy’s works; although wounded.” Barnes was later promoted to Sergeant and traveled to Indianola, Texas, with his regiment. While in Texas, Barnes contracted tuberculosis and died in Indianola on Christmas Eve in 1866. He was officially mustered out of service in January 1867.
Powhatan Beaty was born in Richmond, Virginia, on October 8, 1837, and was formerly enslaved. At some point, he became a freedman and moved to Cincinnati, where he studied acting. Beaty enlisted in the 5th USCTs, Company G, on June 9, 1863, in Ohio. He served as a 1st Sergeant. During the Battle of New Market Heights, Beaty raced to retrieve the flag from a fallen color-bearer. Finding the officers all dead or wounded, he took command of his company and gallantly led it.” He mustered out of service on September 20, 1865, at Carolina City, North Carolina.
James H. Bronson was born in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. His military records show that he was 25 years old and mixed race. Bronson had grey eyes, dark hair, 5’9”, and was employed as a barber when he enlisted July 4, 1863, in Trumbull County, Ohio. He served in the 5th USCTs, Company D. He was later promoted to 1st Sergeant. During the Battle of New Market Heights, Bronson took charge of his company and led them throughout the day after his company officers were all killed or wounded. Following the battle, Bronson requested to have his rank reduced so he could join the regimental military band. He was mustered out on September 20, 1865, at Carolina City, North Carolina.
Christian A. Fleetwood
Christian A. Fleetwood was born a freeman in Baltimore, Maryland, and enlisted in the 4th USCTs on August 11, 1863. Before he enlisted, Fleetwood worked as a clerk. He was 23 years old, with a brown complexion, black eyes, black hair, and stood 5’4.5” tall. Fleetwood received a promotion to Sergeant Major. At the time, this was the highest rank a Black soldier could attain in the U.S. Army. At the Battle of New Market Heights, Fleetwood “Seized the colors after two color bearers had been shot down, and bore them nobly through the fight.” Following the war, Fleetwood worked as a clerk in the War Department.
James Gardiner
James Gardiner served as a private in the 36th USCT, Company I. He was born in Gloucester, Virginia, and worked as an oysterman. He enlisted on September 15, 1863, when he was 19 years old and 5’7” tall. During the Battle of New Market Heights, Gardiner “rushed in advance of his brigade, shot at a rebel officer who was on the parapet cheering his men, and then ran him through with his bayonet.” The day after the battle, Gardiner was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He was mustered out of service at Brazos de Santiago, Texas, on September 20, 1866.
James H. Harris
James H. Harris was born in 1828 in St. Mary’s County, Maryland. When he was 36 years old, he enlisted in the 38th USCTs, Company B. He was a farmer and described as 5’10” tall with a black complexion, black eyes, and black hair. He was promoted to corporal on July 25, 1864, and then to sergeant on September 29, 1864 – the same day as the Battle of New Market Heights. During the battle of New Market Heights, Harris was wounded and later awarded a Medal of Honor for “gallant conduct.” His muster roll records show he spent September and October in the hospital and returned to duty in November 1864. On July 1, 1865, his rank was reduced to private, although no reason is given in his records. Harris mustered out of service on January 25, 1867, at Indianola, Texas.
Thomas R. Hawkins
Thomas R. Hawkins was born in 1840 in Cincinnati, Ohio. According to his obituary, Hawkins “escaped the Southern lines in 1863” and as soon as he reached the North, knelt down and kissed the Union soil. He vowed to do anything he could for the cause of liberty. He enlisted in the 6th USCTs in Philadelphia and entered service as a Sergeant Major. He was wounded in the arm early in his service but quickly rejoined his regiment when the wound healed. During the Battle of New Market Heights, Hawkins was shot through the shoulder, hip, and foot, but managed to rescue the regimental colors. After the war, Hawkins was active in the Temperance Society in Washington, D.C. This letter found in the Freedmen’s Bureau Record Collection on Ancestry® shows Hawkins asking for the use of a room to hold a Temperance Society meeting in 1867. The wounds Hawkins received during the Battle of New Market Heights eventually led to his death. He was awarded a Medal of Honor on February 8, 1870, but died less than three weeks later, on February 28, 1870, in Washington, D.C.
Thomas R. Hawkins applies for space to hold Temperance Society meeting – From the Freedmen’s Bureau Record Collection on Ancestry
Alfred B. Hilton Pension Record from the Freedmen’s Bureau Record Collection on Ancestry
Alfred B. Hilton was one of 14 children born to parents who were formerly enslaved. In August 1863, Alfred and his two brothers joined the 4th USCTs, Company H. Hilton was 21 years old and listed his occupation as a farmer when he enlisted with the rank of sergeant. During the charge on New Market Heights, Sgt. Hilton retrieved the regimental colors after the color bearer was wounded. Hilton was also wounded and struggled forward until he could no longer continue. Hilton was admitted to a military hospital at Fortress Monroe where his right leg had to be amputated below the knee. He eventually died from his battle wounds on October 21, 1864. According to Freedmen’s Bureau Records, Hilton’s parents, Isaac and Harriett, received a $90 pension payment in 1868.
Milton M. Holland
Milton M. Holland was born in Austin, Texas in 1844. When he was 18, he enlisted as a Sergeant Major in the 5th USCTs, Company C, at Athens, Ohio. He was a shoemaker who stood 5’8” tall. His Medal of Honor citation states, “Took command of Company C, after all the officers had been killed or wounded, and gallantly led it.” Despite acting as an officer during combat, Holland was refused an officer’s commission because of race. Following the war, Holland moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked as a government clerk. When he died on May 15, 1910, his valuable estate consisted of “thirty-two acres of land, more or less, improved by a twelve-room frame dwelling house, all modern improvements: good barn, stable and carriage houses and all other necessary outbuildings.”
Miles James was born in 1829 in Princess Anne County, Virginia. He enlisted in the 36th USCTs, Company B, on November 16, 1863. At the time, he was 34 years old and worked as a farmer. During the Battle of New Market Heights, he was severely wounded in the left arm, necessitating an amputation right on the battlefield. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the citation reading, “After having his arm so badly mutilated that immediate amputation was necessary, [he] loaded and discharged his piece with one hand, and urged his men forward…” While recovering in the hospital, Brig. Gen. Alonzo G. Draper, commander of the 36th USCTs, wrote a letter saying that James requested that he not be discharged. He wished to remain in the service. Draper urged military officials to grant the request. Draper wrote, “He is one of the bravest men I ever saw… and a model soldier. He is worth more with his single arm, than half a dozen ordinary men.” James was discharged by order of Surgeon’s Certificate for disability on October 13, 1865, at Brazos de Santiago, Texas. In the 1870 Census, James was living in Norfolk with his wife Sarah and three children working as a shoemaker. He died on August 28, 1871, in Norfolk, Virginia.
Alexander Kelly
Alexander Kelly was born near Saltsburg in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, on April 7, 1840. He enlisted in the 6th USCTs, Company F, at Allegheny, Pennsylvania, on August 24, 1863. He was a 23-year-old coal miner and enlisted as a substitute for his brother Joseph Kelly after Joseph was drafted. Joseph had a large family dependent upon him for support, so Alexander took his place. Kelly saw fighting at Petersburg, Dutch Gap, and at the Battle of New Market Heights. During that battle, when the color bearer had been shot down, he gallantly seized the colors, rallied the survivors, and led them in a charge on the breastworks of the enemy. Kelly died on June 19, 1907.
Robert A. Pinn
Robert A. Pinn was born a freeman on March 1, 1843, in Stark County, Ohio. His father escaped from slavery and fled to Ohio at the age of eighteen. Pinn attempted to enlist in the Union Army at the beginning of the war but was denied because of his race. Instead, Pinn joined the 19th Ohio Infantry in 1861 as a civilian worker. He fought in the Battle of Shiloh despite his non-military status. After President Lincoln opened the way for Black men to serve, Pinn enlisted in the USCTs 5th USCTs, Company I, in 1863. During the Battle of New Market Heights, Pinn served with gallantry at Fort Harrison. Later that same day, he was severely wounded at Fort Gilmer and hospitalized in Portsmouth, Virginia. Following the war, Pinn returned to Ohio where he studied law and became the first Black lawyer in Massillon County. He was active in the GAR and became the first Black Commander of Hart Post 134. He died in his hometown of Massillon, Ohio, in 1911.
Edward Ratcliff was born enslaved on a farm in James City County, Virginia, on February 8, 1835. Ratcliff, along with 37 other enslaved individuals, worked the lands for slave owner Alexander Hankins. When the Civil War broke out, Hankins formed a Confederate military unit, called the James City Artillery. In 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and one year later, 29-year-old Ratcliff walked away from the Hankins farm to enlist in the 38th USCT. During the Battle of New Market Heights, Ratcliff took command after his commanding officer was killed. Ratcliff became the first Union soldier to enter the enemy’s defenses and stand inside their fortification. He was promoted to 1st Sergeant, and later to Sergeant Major. Ratcliff was mustered out of service at Indianola, Texas, on January 25, 1867. He died on March 10, 1915, in York County, Virginia.
Charles Veal was born in 1838 in Portsmouth, Virginia. He enlisted in the 4th USCTs, Company D, in July 1863. At the time, he was a 25-year-old fireman. During the Battle of New Market Heights, the 4th and 6th USCTs were the first to advance. Christian Fleetwood, a fellow Medal of Honor recipient, later recalled the battle. He said that a color guard consisting of 14 men (two sergeants and twelve corporals) advanced on the field. One of them was Veal. They came under fire, and Veal was the only one left standing. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry when he “seized the national colors, after two color bears had been shot down close to the enemy’s works, and bore them through the remainder of the battle.” He died July 27, 1872, in Hampton City, Virginia.
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