DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE
MILITARY AND NAVAL SERVICE OF BLACKS
AWARDED THE CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR
FROM THE CIVIL WAR TO THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR

On the four rolls of this microfilm publication are reproduced documents relating to the military and naval service of blacks awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor from the Civil War to the Spanish-American War. These documents are from eight National Archives and Records Service (NARS) record groups: Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780's-1917, Record Group 94; Records of the Office of Secretary of War, Record Group 107; Records of the Office of the Judge Advocate General (Army), Record Group 153; Records of the United States Regular Army Mobile Units, 1821-1942, Record Group 391; Records of United States Army Continental Commands, 1821-1920, Record Group 393; Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Record Group 24; Naval Records Collection of the Office of Naval Records and Library, Record Group 45; and General Records of the Department of the Navy, Record Group 80.

On December 21, 1861, President Lincoln approved the congressional bill establishing the Navy Medal of Honor to be given to noncommissioned officers and enlisted men of the Navy and Marine Corps for "extraordinary bravery." A joint resolution of Congress that authorized the preparation of 2,000 Medals of Honor to be presented to noncommissioned officers and privates of the Army and the Volunteer Forces for "gallantry in action" and other "soldier-like qualities" was approved by President Lincoln on July 12, 1862. The first Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to a black enlisted man of the U.S. Navy was announced in General Order 32, Navy Department, April 16, 1864. It was not until April 6, 1865, that black privates and noncommissioned officers of the United States Colored Troops were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

The documents reproduced in this microfilm publication consist mostly of copies of letters sent, letters received, and reports. Also included are issuances and a small number of court-martial case files and log entries. The ranks and ratings shown respectively for the Army noncommissioned officers and privates and Navy enlisted men are those held by the men at the time the medals were awarded. Some of the Army Medal of Honor men served in both Regular Army and Volunteer units or in more than one Regular Army or Volunteer unit during their military careers.

The documents included for the Navy Medal of Honor winners relate only to the acts of bravery for which they were cited and the award of the medals. The documents reproduced for the Army Medal of Honor winners, however, often provide other information relating to their military service. A few documents, less than 75 years old and relating to two Army Medal of Honor winners, have not been filmed because they contain medical information the disclosure of which would constitute an invasion of personal privacy. The documents that have not been filmed are identified in roll notes that appear at the beginning of roll 3.

Documents relating to Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts who served with the U.S. Army during the Indian campaigns of the 1870's and were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor have been included in this microfilm publication. These Seminole-Negro Indian Scouts were the descendents of blacks, who intermarried with Seminole Indians in Florida and migrated to Mexico in the 1830's. In 1870 the Seminole-Negro Indians began crossing the Mexican border into Texas, settling in the areas around Fort Clark and Fort Duncan.

Among NARS holdings, but not a part of this microfilm publication, are other records providing information concerning the military and naval service of black Congressional Medal of Honor winners.

In Records of the Veterans Administration, Record Group 15, can be found pension case files for black Medal of Honor winners of both the Army and Navy. From these files can be obtained information concerning their military and naval service as well as data concerning their lives before and following their service in the Army and Navy. The names of the soldiers and sailors who applied for pensions can be obtained from the indexes that have been reproduced on NARS Microfilm Publications T288, General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, and T318, Indian Wars Index to Pension Files, 1892-1926.

There are compiled service records and enlistment papers for Army Medal of Honor winners of the Civil War, Indian campaigns, and the Spanish-American War in Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780's-1917, Record Group 94. Also in Record Group 94 are Volunteer and Regular Army muster rolls and returns, descriptive books, hospital registers, and other medical records. Infantry and cavalry returns are reproduced as Microfilm Publications M665, Returns From Regular Army Infantry Regiments, June 1821 - December 1916, and M744, Returns From Regular Army Cavalry Regiments, 1833-1916.

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