Union Units – United States Colored Troops
American Civil War
United States Colored Troops (USCT)
The United States Colored Troops (USCT) were auxiliary military regiments which were first organized during the American Civil War. These units were comprised of soldiers of African American, Native American, Pacific Islander, and Asian American descent. War Department General Order No. 143 (22 May 1863) established the Bureau for Colored Troops to facilitate recruitment of African Americans for service into the Union Army.
State Volunteer Units
States began to recruit freedmen into service into volunteer regiments following the Emancipation Proclamation on 1 January 1863. The first such regiment formed in this manner was the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment which was mustered in 13 January 1863. Most regiments formed in this manner were later converted into United States Colored Troops (USCT). As example: 13 December 1864, the 1st Kansas became the 79th USCT Infantry. A few state units remained Regular army.
State Volunteer Units designated Regular Army:
5th Massachusetts Colored Cavalry
54th Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Infantry
55th Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Infantry
29th Connecticut (Colored) Infantry
30th Connecticut (Colored) Infantry (Merged 18 May 1864 into 31st Infantry Regiment (Colored) New York)
31st Infantry Regiment (Colored) New York
Corps D'Afrique
Property-owning free men of color had long served in the militia in Louisiana. The 1st Louisiana Native Guards (C.S.A.) were a militia unit formed in New Orleans. In January 1862, the Louisiana Legislature restricted militia to "... free white males capable of bearing arms" and the 1st Louisiana Native Guards were disbanded on the 15th of February. Louisiana Governor Thomas Overton Moore reconstituted the Native Guards in March when Union forces entered the Mississippi River. The Native Guards were ordered to assist in the defense of New Orleans. During the siege, Confederate regulars abandoned the city, leaving the Native Guards to fend for themselves. Ordered to surrender their arms, General Benjamin Butler, short on re-enforcements, and with no help from Washington, enlisted the help of the Louisiana Native Guards. 27 September 1862, the 1st Louisiana Native Guards became the first African American unit in the U.S. Army. Many of these men had served in the 1st Louisiana Native Guards (C.S.A.). Soon escaped slaves joined their ranks expanding the Native Guards from 1000 to 4000 men and from 1 to 3 Regiments. In June 1863, the 3 regiments of the Louisiana Native Guards would form the basis for the Corps d'Afrique. In April 1864, the Corps D'Afrique was merged into the United States Colored Troops.
Index to Descriptive Recruitment Lists (Missouri)
"Descriptive Recruitment Lists of Volunteers for the United States Colored Troops for the State of Missouri, 1863-1865" (NARA Microfilm Publication M1894 – 6 rolls) is a unique and rare set of records microfilmed as a partnership between the Julius K. Hunter and Friends African American Research Collection and the National Archives.