Civil War CDV Colonel Thomas J Morgan 70th Indiana & 14th USCT BBG
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:16304046 |
Condition as seen. "English: Thomas Jefferson Morgan (Franlkin, Indiana, 1839-1902), Union Army officer, Baptist minister (ordained 1869), government official, and public educator; was Commissioner of Indian Affairs under President Benjamin Harrison in 1889-1893. In retirement, edited the Baptist Home Mission Society magazine. During the Civil War, started as a lieutenant in the 17th Indiana Infantry, then was commissioned a lieutenant-colonel of the 14th U.S. Colored Infantry; colonel... in January 1864 and commander of a Colored Infantry brigade.Reference: Handbook of North American Indians: History of Indian-white relations"
"On May 22, 1863 – a few months after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effecton the first day of the year – the United States War Department established the Bureau ofColored Troops and began actively recruiting African American soldiers for the effort topreserve the Union. About 175 regiments of the USCT (United States Colored Troops)were eventually raised, composed of about 180, 000 men, or about 10 percent of theUnion Army. Thousands of them never came home, meeting their deaths at the hands ofthe enemy, or – more often – as a result of disease, a common fate for many soldiers ofthe time. The most celebrated of these regiments was the 54th Massachusetts, commanded by William Gould Shaw, whose exploits at the Battle of Fort Wagner werememorably captured on film in the 1989 movie “Glory.”Before the film, many Americans were unaware of the role black Union soldiers playedin the Civil War. Most people in the Upper Cumberland also remain unaware of ourregion’s own contribution to that story.In October and November of 1863, the 14th United States Colored Infantry was organizedin Gallatin, Tenn. Four companies were immediately sent to Bridgeport, Ala., for fatigueduty; the remainder of the regiment was sent to Chattanooga in February to work on thefortifications of the city, and were there reunited with those first four companies.The 14th, however, made a stop along the way to Chattanooga – in Sparta, Tenn. Theregiment’s commander had been ordered to recruit along the Caney Fork and Calfkillerrivers, “impressing” (or drafting) no Negroes, but accepting as many volunteers as hecould find. The 14th was commanded by Colonel Thomas Jefferson Morgan, anabolitionist from Rhode Island who would later serve as Commissioner of Indian Affairsunder President Benjamin Harrison. Morgan’s second-in-command was LieutenantColonelHenry C. Corbin. On March 28, 1864, Colonel William B. Stokes of the FifthUnited States Cavalry (a native of the region) reported that the 14th was in Sparta, “recruiting rapidly.”Most of these volunteers were slaves from the various Upper Cumberland counties. Nowthat the area was occupied by Union forces, they were able to come forward freely andvolunteer. How many did so? This author is presently researching that question, whichrequires going through the regimental records soldier-by-soldier, but eventually a numberwill be determined. The majority of volunteers were sent to Chattanooga, where the 42ndand 44th United States Colored Regiments were being formed for guard duty and defenseof that city; many, however, were accepted into the ranks of the 14th, which was a combat regiment.Two days earlier, Amanda McDowell – a pro-Union woman lived in White County –wrote in her diary: “… The Yankees are still in Sparta, not only there but have somenegro soldiers there too. They were bad enough but when it comes to negroes, Heavendefend us! It is indeed humiliating, but the country deserves to be humiliated. Even tothe very dust…”In an earlier entry McDowell had noted that the Anderson family of Sparta had sufferedthe loss of several slaves who had run away. Some of them may have been among theAfrican American Andersons who joined the 14th at Sparta: David, Thomas, and JamesWaymon Anderson.In August the 14th was part of the charge that drove General Joe Wheeler’s forces out ofDalton, Ga. The following month, in Murfreesboro, they were involved in a skirmishwith the Eighth Confederate Tennessee Cavalry, commanded by George Dibrell ofSparta, whom they prevented from joining Wheeler’s main force. It is quite possible thatthe conflict on that day, involving Sparta men who were black and white, in blue andgray, may have seen former slaves fighting their own former masters.The most dramatic point of the war for the 14th was the Battle of Nashville, on Dec. 14and 15, 1864. Two of the regiment’s companies had been on a troop train derailed, andsubsequently pinned down, by Confederate cavalry commanded by Nathan BedfordForrest on Dec. 10, and made their way to their regiment under cover of darkness. Oncethere, according to Morgan, they “advanced until they were under sever fire” and were“ordered to carry the rifle pits… killing, wounding, capturing or driving away the enemy”with much success. After the main battle, the 14th was singled out for praise by GeneralGeorge Thomas, commander of the Union forces.The fact that a significant number of recruits in the 14th United States Colored Infantrycame from the Upper Cumberland has been lost to local memory. This has likely beendue to circumstance – many African American families from the region moved west afterthe war, and their stories were lost – rather than intentional, but nonetheless the result hasbeen an unfortunate failure to honor their roles in the war. There are no mentions of themor local histories. It is my hope that the revelations of my ongoing research will changethat, and that henceforth – along with the other Confederate and Union units raised inWhite County and the Upper Cumberland in general – the name of the 14th United StatesColored Infantry will be displayed proudly.They fought hard for it"
"On May 22, 1863 – a few months after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effecton the first day of the year – the United States War Department established the Bureau ofColored Troops and began actively recruiting African American soldiers for the effort topreserve the Union. About 175 regiments of the USCT (United States Colored Troops)were eventually raised, composed of about 180, 000 men, or about 10 percent of theUnion Army. Thousands of them never came home, meeting their deaths at the hands ofthe enemy, or – more often – as a result of disease, a common fate for many soldiers ofthe time. The most celebrated of these regiments was the 54th Massachusetts, commanded by William Gould Shaw, whose exploits at the Battle of Fort Wagner werememorably captured on film in the 1989 movie “Glory.”Before the film, many Americans were unaware of the role black Union soldiers playedin the Civil War. Most people in the Upper Cumberland also remain unaware of ourregion’s own contribution to that story.In October and November of 1863, the 14th United States Colored Infantry was organizedin Gallatin, Tenn. Four companies were immediately sent to Bridgeport, Ala., for fatigueduty; the remainder of the regiment was sent to Chattanooga in February to work on thefortifications of the city, and were there reunited with those first four companies.The 14th, however, made a stop along the way to Chattanooga – in Sparta, Tenn. Theregiment’s commander had been ordered to recruit along the Caney Fork and Calfkillerrivers, “impressing” (or drafting) no Negroes, but accepting as many volunteers as hecould find. The 14th was commanded by Colonel Thomas Jefferson Morgan, anabolitionist from Rhode Island who would later serve as Commissioner of Indian Affairsunder President Benjamin Harrison. Morgan’s second-in-command was LieutenantColonelHenry C. Corbin. On March 28, 1864, Colonel William B. Stokes of the FifthUnited States Cavalry (a native of the region) reported that the 14th was in Sparta, “recruiting rapidly.”Most of these volunteers were slaves from the various Upper Cumberland counties. Nowthat the area was occupied by Union forces, they were able to come forward freely andvolunteer. How many did so? This author is presently researching that question, whichrequires going through the regimental records soldier-by-soldier, but eventually a numberwill be determined. The majority of volunteers were sent to Chattanooga, where the 42ndand 44th United States Colored Regiments were being formed for guard duty and defenseof that city; many, however, were accepted into the ranks of the 14th, which was a combat regiment.Two days earlier, Amanda McDowell – a pro-Union woman lived in White County –wrote in her diary: “… The Yankees are still in Sparta, not only there but have somenegro soldiers there too. They were bad enough but when it comes to negroes, Heavendefend us! It is indeed humiliating, but the country deserves to be humiliated. Even tothe very dust…”In an earlier entry McDowell had noted that the Anderson family of Sparta had sufferedthe loss of several slaves who had run away. Some of them may have been among theAfrican American Andersons who joined the 14th at Sparta: David, Thomas, and JamesWaymon Anderson.In August the 14th was part of the charge that drove General Joe Wheeler’s forces out ofDalton, Ga. The following month, in Murfreesboro, they were involved in a skirmishwith the Eighth Confederate Tennessee Cavalry, commanded by George Dibrell ofSparta, whom they prevented from joining Wheeler’s main force. It is quite possible thatthe conflict on that day, involving Sparta men who were black and white, in blue andgray, may have seen former slaves fighting their own former masters.The most dramatic point of the war for the 14th was the Battle of Nashville, on Dec. 14and 15, 1864. Two of the regiment’s companies had been on a troop train derailed, andsubsequently pinned down, by Confederate cavalry commanded by Nathan BedfordForrest on Dec. 10, and made their way to their regiment under cover of darkness. Oncethere, according to Morgan, they “advanced until they were under sever fire” and were“ordered to carry the rifle pits… killing, wounding, capturing or driving away the enemy”with much success. After the main battle, the 14th was singled out for praise by GeneralGeorge Thomas, commander of the Union forces.The fact that a significant number of recruits in the 14th United States Colored Infantrycame from the Upper Cumberland has been lost to local memory. This has likely beendue to circumstance – many African American families from the region moved west afterthe war, and their stories were lost – rather than intentional, but nonetheless the result hasbeen an unfortunate failure to honor their roles in the war. There are no mentions of themor local histories. It is my hope that the revelations of my ongoing research will changethat, and that henceforth – along with the other Confederate and Union units raised inWhite County and the Upper Cumberland in general – the name of the 14th United StatesColored Infantry will be displayed proudly.They fought hard for it"
