Search This Blog

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Edward "Ned" Scruggs, Veteran of the 13th USCT, Company F

Edward "Ned" Scruggs was born about 1836 in Williamson County, Tennessee.  He and his family were enslaved by a man named Ed Scruggs on the Scruggs family farm on Carter's Creek Pike west of Franklin and were probably born there as well.  According to Rick Warwick of the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County this large farm was later called the Pigg-Haralson Farm and owned by E.G. Sellers.  For clarity, I'm going to refer to Edward "Ned" Scruggs as Ned to keep him distinct from Ed Scruggs, his former enslaver, although Ned did use both the name Ed and Ned throughout his life.
Close up of Section of 1878 Map of Williamson County,
showing J. Scruggs' farm along Carter's Creek Pike, west of Franklin
Tennessee State Library and Archives, D.G. Beers & Co.


Enslavement in Williamson County

Ned Scruggs served in the Army - in the 13th US Colored Infantry - during the Civil War.  In his pension application he stated this about his early life:

"I have no record of any kind of my birth. I do not know of any public record of my birth, neither baptism record, nor any family records. . . .[T]he people who owned me before the Civil War . . . lived in Williamson County, Tenn., near Franklin, Tenn.. . . I do not know whether they had a family record of my birth. . . . My parents were slaves; could not read or write and did not keep any record of the birth of their children."




It is impossible to downplay the horror of what slavery was like for Ned. For example, in 1836, the year of his birth, in Nashville a lottery was held. Much like today, various prizes were the possible rewards. However, at that time, in addition to the chance to win a horse you also could win another person. Four people were being awarded - probably the members of a family, a mother named Nancy, father Charles, and three daughters Matilda (12), Rebecca (11) and Maria (6). This was the world that young Ned was born into. 


Portion of the Announcement for the Tennessee Internal Improvement Lottery,
published in the Nashville Tennessean Saturday, March 26, 1836 

In 1847, when Ned was about 11 years old the man who enslaved him, Ed Scruggs, died leaving his large landholdings and slaves to his own wife and children. Ned became the property of Ed's son Theo, who was just 13 years old at this time - two years older than Ned.





1847 Inventory of Estate of Ed Scruggs (white)
1847 Inventory of Estate of Ed Scruggs (white) p2

The inventory of Ed Scruggs' estate included 12 horses and mules, one yoke of oxen, 18 head of cattle, 30 sheep 150 hogs and the 41 people he was enslaving.  

Among those individuals I found an eleven year old Ned Scruggs along with his parents Alfred (52) and Felicia (45) and his siblings, Lucy (19), Henry/Harry (17), Burton (15), Harriet (13), Henderson (7), and Jenny (2).


Partial inventory of Ed Scruggs' slaves in 1847, showing Ned's family

I found a Freedmen's Bank record for a William Scruggs who was born in Franklin that I believe was another brother born after this inventory was taken.  William was a teamster in the Civil War and later lived in St. Louis working on a steamship.  You can see that he listed Ned and his sister Harriet as his siblings as well as their parents Alfred and Felicia (Lishy).  From what I have pieced together, Ned's family tree looks something like this:

His father Alfred (b. 1792) and mother Felicia (Lishy) (b. 1810) had 8 children who survived:

  • Lucy (b. 1830)
  • Harrison "Harry" (b. 1835)
  • Edward "Ned" (b. 1836)
  • Burton (b. 1837)
  • Harriet (b. 1838)
  • Henderson "Henry" (b. 1840)
  • George (b. 1841)
  • Jenny (b. 1842)
  • William (b. 1848)

The next record I could find of Ned's childhood was in 1849; it appears as though he was hired out for $10 that year.  He was 13 years old.


For the next dozen or so years, Ned was hired out to work, sometimes with his brother Henry as a farm hand and rock mason. It appears as though he may have sometimes been hired out to the Scruggs' neighbors the Kinnards.  During this time, when he was a teenager, Ned married Mary Kinnard, another enslaved person, in what was described as a "regular slave marriage" in his pension documents.  They were recognized by "whites and blacks" and had the permission of their "owners" to marry.  Their first child,  London Scruggs, was born in 1851 when both Mary and Ned were just teenagers.  

One of their neighbors was Wiley Scruggs (whom I've written about before)- another one of the Scruggs slaves.  He lived on the Scruggs farm with his mother and was enslaved by Joe Scruggs - Theo's older brother.  In 1909 he said that he remembered Ned and his wife Mary:
"I knew them or can remember them about the time of the breaking out of the war. . . . Ned Scruggs belonged to either Theo or his brother Ned [Ed] Scruggs. I don't know which as they were all in one place. Mary belonged to [the] Kinnard[s] & Newton[s] both, I don't know which owned her last. When I first knew Mary she belonged to Kinnard and was living as the wife of this Ned Scruggs."


Deposition of Wiley Scruggs
The Scruggs families lived next to Claiborne Kinnard (just to the south) - this may be who Wiley Scruggs is referring to in regards to Mary.  

Mary and Ned would have two boys London (b. 1851) and Jarvis (b. 1859) during this time.  This is what their oldest son, called "Lundy", said about them in a pension record:
"I can remember my parents before the war & they lived as man and wife & everybody regarded them as such til he went into the army. They had their owner's consent to live as man and wife then or they could not have lived together."
In 1855, Theo Scruggs, the young enslaver of Ned Scruggs, was granted disbursement of his share of his father's estate - including Ned Scruggs - who was now 19 years old.  In the estate papers, Ned was valued at $950. 


Portion of Probate Records for Theo Scruggs, showing Lot No. 2 - Ned is listed as 17 years old and valued at $950. The "Mary and child" listed is perhaps his wife Mary (14) and oldest son London (4); they are valued at $1,100.
Ned's siblings Harry, Harriett, and Henderson are also valued.
His parents Alfred and Letitia, who would have been elderly were valued at $200 along with Jerry..


The Civil War


On December 20, 1860 South Carolina seceded from the United States.  This news surely sent shock waves throughout Williamson County and likely reached Ned Scruggs.  By now, Ned and Mary were 24 years old and the parents of two young sons - Lundy (9) and Jarvis (1).  The following April, US troops fired upon Fort Sumter and men from Williamson County began organizing into militias.  Across Virginia the enslaved had begun to flee toward the US army troops at Fort Monroe, and US Army General Butler coined the term "contraband of war" in May 1861 to describe them and the authority under which he allowed these refugees to seek safety within his lines.   

Meanwhile, back in Williamson County, white men were starting to form Confederate militia units in preparation for an expected war involving Tennessee.  On May 9, 1861 Theo Scruggs' brother Young Scruggs joined the Confederate Army in Company D of the Tennessee First Infantry - better known as the Williamson GraysOn June 8, 1861 Tennessee seceded from the United State of America.  

On February 24, 1862 Nashville fell to US forces.  Many slaves in Williamson County (contrabands) began to emancipate themselves and gather around the arriving Army camps for protection, employment, shelter, and food. This was a very chaotic time.  Williamson County was a war zone.  

The history of Sixth Regiment Ohio Volunteers, written by E. Hannaford, includes this recollection of their time in Williamson County in March 1862: “On the 18th, the Fourth Division marched nineteen miles, through Franklin, halting for the night near Spring Hill. The command was now traversing the fertile and highly-cultivated cotton regions of Middle Tennessee, and gangs of slaves were seen at work upon almost every plantation, or else clinging to the fences by the road-side, whence they watched the marching column with wondering eyes and unmistakable delight, as long as it remained in view.”

These US soldiers would have marched right near the Scruggs farm on Carter's Creek Pike in Franklin. Other US forces were also in the area occupying Franklin.  Ned Scruggs surely would have seen them out foraging and on patrols, and perhaps been inspired and emboldened to leave for Nashville - maybe even enabled by them. Skirmishing continued throughout the year – with control of Franklin changing hands repeatedly. 

In July 1862Congress passed the 2nd Confiscation Act which stated that “. . . All slaves of persons . . . engaged in rebellion, escaping from such persons and taking refuge within the lines of the army . . . shall be deemed captives of war, and shall be forever free of their servitude, and not again held as slaves.” On September 22, 1862 President Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation. Its hard to know how or when Ned Scruggs would have first learned of these seemingly impossible declarations. Both documents laid out a tantalizing dream for so many enslaved people across the South. 

Life as a Paid Laborer

It seems likely that Ned Scruggs took the leap of faith afforded to him by these two laws and took "refuge within the lines of the army."  He seems to have left the Scruggs farm for a chance at something better.  However, in the pension records, one person recalled that Mary did not accompany Ned to Nashville.  She appears to have stayed in Franklin with their two young children; perhaps the farm seemed like a safer more stable place than Nashville's growing refugees camps.

As early as August 1862, Ned obtained (or was perhaps impressed into) work building the fortifications for the US Army, including Fort Negley. His name appears on the Employment Rolls and Nonpayment Rolls of Negroes Employed in the Defenses of Nashville, Tennessee, 1862-1863. He was assigned #923 and his "owner" is listed as "T. Scruggs" - Theo Scruggs. Ned Scruggs was employed for 5 months at a rate of $7/month. He was one of the relatively few men who actually received his wages of $35. Its not clear if he was able to send some of this money home to Mary and their sons, but if he did it surely would have been a huge help to them.




Enlistment in the US Colored Troops


After completion of the forts in December 1862,its not clear what Ned did for work, but on September 24, 1863 in Nashville, Ned Scruggs enlisted in Company F of the 13th US Colored Infantry.  This was the first day that enlistment opened for this regiment.   The 13th USCI was just the second Civil War-era federal black regiment of infantry soldiers in the United States.  Men were recruited into its ranks from among the laborers like Ned Scruggs who had worked to build forts in places such as Nashville, Gallatin and Murfreesboro and lived in the contrabands camps in those areas. 


In his enlistment papers Ned Scruggs was described as a 24-year-old farmer who was 5'11" tall.  After his enlistment, he mustered into Company F at "Camp Rosencranz" on November 19, 1863.   Camp Rosencranz was probably referring to Fortress Rosencrans in Murfreesboro.   This sketch showing "negro recruits" boarding train cars for Murfreesboro likely depicts men such as Ned Scruggs heading to Fortress Rosencrans for their initiation into Army life.  
"Negro recruits taking the cars for Murfreesboro, Tenn., to join the federal army", From a sketch of C. F. Hillen.
Tennessee State Library & Archives. Image in the public domain.
The day they were mustered, in the men of the 13th USCT Regiment were presented with their Regimental flag.  It was described as a beautiful vibrant blue flag with a blazoned eagle and shield, marked "Thirteenth Regiment U.S. Colored Infantry" and "Presented by the colored ladies of Murfreesboro." 


A recreation of the 13th US Colored Infantry regimental flag.

The day after Ned Scruggs mustered in (November 20, 1863) he was promoted to be a corporal - which indicates that he was literate.  He signed up for a three-year term of service under the command of Colonel John A. Hottenstein. 

March 10, 1864 Nashville Daily Union
From its formation in the fall of 1863 until May 1864, the men of the 13th were primarily used as laborers on the Nashville and Northwestern railroad 30 miles west of Nashville near Kingston Springs. This March 10, 1864 correspondence to the Nashville Union, written by "J. W. R." , presumably an officer of the 13th USCI, states that the railroad they are building is a "military necessity" and points out that the men of the 12th USCI and 13th USCI who have been working to build it had been "gathered . . . from such a horrid state of slavery and wrong that even now they claim to be free."  This is interesting to me, because it implies that the writer understands, or maybe implies, that despite their service in the Army they are still not entirely "free."  He goes on, "They cheerfully submit to the rigors of military rule, saying, 'We were never so happy before. Our old masters would get angry with us and sometimes punish us almost to death; and we do not understand why; but here if we are punished, we know why, for the officers tell us our duty, and never punish us unless we disobey. If we disobey, we know it; and if we are punished, we know what it is for.' . . . I have seen this regiment march a whole day without observing a single instance of straying or breaking ranks for pigs and poultry.  . . . Our record in the army is just as good as any other and better than that of white troops on fatigue or road building. . . . It is quite a satisfaction to me to know that while some men consider the men of this organization to be unworthy because the soldiers have been negro slaves, they have shown as much bravery in proportion to their experience in mortal combat as the white troops, and more proficiency in the schools of the company and soldier."

During this time, the 13th had furnished an average of five hundred men as construction workers; other USCT and white regiments also provided laborers to this massive military effort.  Confederate guerrillas periodically attacked the soldiers attempting to disrupt their work, but despite their efforts, the US Army completed the rail extension to Johnsonville (west of Nashville at the Tennessee River) quickly. These soldiers also built warehouses, barracks, a rail station, fortifications, and other facilities at Johnsonville. Between 5,000 and 7,300 African American soldiers are estimated to have worked on the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad project. By May 10, 1864 the 13th USCI soldiers completed their work on the railroad and were dispersed along the railroad line to provide guard duty at blockhouses.  

At some point during his time in the Army,   Ned's oldest son Jarvis visited him with provisions.  In the pension file, he says this: 
"My father went in the army but I do not know his regiment. I was sent by my mother while my father was in the army at Nashville, Tenn. to take him six chickens and I took them to him."
I'm sure Ned really appreciated receiving the care package of those birds!
From Jarvis Scruggs' deposition in Ned Scruggs' widow's pension application, dated May 17, 1909

The 13th USCT under Colonel Hottenstein guarded Johnsonville, Waverly, and other key points along the line between May and December 1864, and again from mid-January 1865 to the end of the war. The Record of Events indicates that Company F (Ned Scruggs' Company), along with other Companies were summoned to Johnsonville in July 1864 from various points along the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad to help construct and garrison the Lower Redoubt portion of Fort Johnson at Johnsonville. In the course of that work, Ned "incurred injury of [his] back caused by lifting logs to build breastworks."

Later in life, Ned Scruggs would write in his pension application that he had injured his back while lifting logs to build these breastworks.
African American troops occupied this Lower Redoubt at Fort Johnson on the eve of and during the Battle of Johnsonville. On the morning of November 4, 1864, Confederate Lt. General Nathan Bedford Forrest attacked Johnsonville in an attempt to disrupt the supply routes provided by the railroad.  The Battle of Johnsonville was a significant and unique land and water battle - a full description of which is beyond the scope of this blog post.  I encourage you to learn more about it.  

Colonel Mussey of the 100th USCT wrote in a report of the day:

The behavior of the colored troops at Johnsonville, Tenn., during the recent attack upon that place was, I am informed by several eye-witnesses, excellent. . . . . Some of the Thirteenth U. S. Colored Infantry, who were at Johnsonville, were upon the river-bank as sharpshooters, and armed with the Enfield rifle, and did good execution. The affair was slight, but it has gained credit for the colored troops.  Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Report of Col. Reuben D. Mussey, Series I, Vol. 39, Part I, Serial no. 77, 868
Johnsonville, Tenn. Camp of Tennessee Colored Battery
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA
https://www.loc.gov/item/cwp2003000850/PP/
On November 30, 1864 (the day of the Battle of Franklin) the entire regiment was withdrawn from Johnsonville to Nashville in preparation for Lt. General Hood's anticipated attack.  Ned Scruggs, as far as I can tell, was among them.

On December 7th, the men of the 13th USCI were placed into the 2nd Colored Brigade, along with the men of the 12th USCI and 100th USCI.  The men dug-in and threw up rifle pits where they skirmished with the Confederates over the next week near Nashville. Col. John A. Hottenstein, commander of the 13th USCI Thirteenth gave this nonchalant account of their movements in mid December 1864 including their service on the first day at the Battle of Nashville:   
During the time from the 7th to the 13th [of December] this regiment was occupied in throwing up rifle-pits along the line and preparing for a campaign. The men were reclothed and refitted in everything necessary for a long campaign. On the 13th regiment was ordered out with the rest of the brigade on a reconnaissance near Rains' house, and had a lively skirmish during the afternoon, retiring at dusk. In this skirmish the regiment lost 1 man killed and 4 wounded. On the night of the 14th I received orders to be ready to move at 5 o'clock the following morning. Soon after daylight on the morning of the 15th we moved with the brigade and occupied the works thrown up on the right of the Chattanooga railroad and near the Nolensville pike. During the 15th the regiment lay behind those breast-works, under a severe fire from a battery in our front, without sustaining any loss.
On December 16, the Second Brigade, including the 13th USCT, participated in the fierce assault on the right wing of General Hoods Army of Tennessee at Overton Hill (Peach Orchard Hill). The battle site can be seen today just west of I-65 at the Harding Place exit, where a historical marker has been placed. You can read more about the Battle of Nashville and the role of the men from Williamson County in this blog post.  It is hard to adequately describe the significance of the role that the men from Williamson County and the 13th USCI played in the Battle that day.  You can learn more here.

This is 
Col. Hottenstein's account of that day:
At daylight on the morning of the 16th the regiment was under arms ready to move, and about sunrise I received orders from the colonel commanding to move across the Nolensville pike and feel the enemy in our front. I advanced my skirmishers to a piece of woods in our front, but the enemy had retired. I then received orders to move over to the Nolensville pike, where the remainder of the brigade then was, and to form my regiment as a reserve, in rear of the other two regiments of the brigade, and to regulate my movements by them. The brigade then moved to the right and front, and after considerable maneuvering joined the right to the left of the Third Division, Fourth Corps, where the men were ordered to lie down. In this position we were shelled considerably, by the enemy without any material damage. At about 2.30 I received notice that we would assault the works in our front, and in a few minutes afterward the order to advance was given. The regiment advanced with the brigade in good order, but before we arrived near the rebel works the troops in our front began to lie down, and skulk to the rear, which, of course, was not calculated to give much courage to men who never before had undergone an ordeal by fire. The fire of the enemy was terrific, but nevertheless the men, led by their officers, continued to advance to the very muzzles of the enemy's guns, but its numbers were too small, and after a protracted struggle they had to fall back, not for the want of courage or discipline, but because it was impossible to drive the enemy from his works by a direct assault. Before falling back all the troops on our right had given way, and it was to continue the struggle any longer. The regiment reformed on the ground occupied just previous to the assault by the One hundredth U. S. Colored Infantry, and was ready to again advance when a staff officer of the colonel commanding ordered me to take my regiment over to the left, where the remainder of the brigade was formed. I moved to the left, as ordered, and joined the brigade, which moved about miles to the front and encamped for the night, in the meantime the enemy retiring toward Franklin. The regiment went into action on the morning of the 16th, 556 men and 20 commissioned officers, lost 4 commissioned officers and 55 enlisted men killed, and 4 commissioned and 165 enlisted men wounded; total loss, 220.
Next, the 13th USCI participated in the pursuit of Hood during his retreat south through Williamson County.  This is what Col. Hottenstein said about those days beginning on December 17, 1864 and their subsequent return to Nashville:
On the morning of the 17th we marched in pursuit of the enemy and reached Franklin in the evening.  Source: Official Records PAGE 548-93 KY., SW. VA., TENN., MISS., ALA., AND N. GA. [CHAP. LVII. [Series I. Vol. 45. Part I, Reports, Correspondence, Etc. Serial No. 93.]
I wonder what Ned Scruggs and the other previously-enslaved men from Williamson County were thinking - to be returning in US Army uniforms, triumphant, to Franklin?  As Ned Scruggs and the rest of the 13th USCI (including almost 60 other men from Williamson County) marched through Franklin, Colonel Thomas Jefferson Morgan recounted the scene in his memoir as they saluted their top commanding officer, General Thomas:


Col. Hottenstein continued his description of the men's march in pursuit of John Bell Hood's defeated Confederate Army of Tennessee.
The next day the regiment moved with the brigade toward Murfreesborough and arrived there on the 20th; thence to Stevenson and Decatur, where we arrived on the 25th, and drove the enemy out of the place, . . . Source: Official Records PAGE 548-93 KY., SW. VA., TENN., MISS., ALA., AND N. GA. [CHAP. LVII. [Series I. Vol. 45. Part I, Reports, Correspondence, Etc. Serial No. 93.]
During this portion of the march, Ned was apparently injured.  He said that his foot was trapped between railroad cars when they were "en route from Murfreesboro to Decatur" and his foot was "mashed" and his back injured. 




Next, according to Col. Hottenstein,
The regiment moved with the brigade down the river in the direction of Courtland and arrived there on the 30th of December, and from thence to La Grange, Ala., on January 1, 1865. January 2 moved back toward Decatur and arrived there on the 5th. On the 7th we embarked on the cars for Nashville. Arriving at Scottsborough we were ordered in pursuit of the rebel Gen. Lyon, who had been on a raiding tour through Kentucky and Tennessee. The regiment marched in pursuit to--Landing, and returned thence to Larkinsville, Ala. Nothing of note occurred on this march, except the suffering of the men for the want of shoes and other clothing, which from the length of the campaign were worn out. Many of the officers and men were barefoot, and never did men display more soldierly than on this march; without shoes and a great time without rations, they performed their duty cheerfully and without murmur. The regiment arrived at Nashville on the 15th of January and lay there until the 29th, when I received orders to move and reoccupy our former stations of the Nashville and Northwestern Railroad. The regiment moved by easy marches to its former stations on the road, arriving at this place on the 2d of February, and on the 4th all of the different companies had arrived at the posts assigned them.  Source: Official Records PAGE 548-93 KY., SW. VA., TENN., MISS., ALA., AND N. GA. [CHAP. LVII. [Series I. Vol. 45. Part I, Reports, Correspondence, Etc. Serial No. 93.]
After this arduous march and injury its not surprising that Ned Scruggs eventually became sick.  On October 12, 1865 his military records show that he was sick in the hospital in Nashville.  He was absent from his company through November and December.  He was admitted to the Hospital in Nashville with small pox and returned to duty January 3rd 1866 in Nashville.



Just one week later, Ned Scruggs mustered out of service on January 10, 1866 in Nashville, Tennessee.



Post War Life and Reconstruction

According to his pension, Ned returned home to Williamson County and lived for a short while with Mary and their two sons - Lundy (who was now 14) and Jarvis (now 6).  During this time, a daughter Delia was conceived and born to the couple.  

Ned's father Alfred appears to have stayed on the Scruggs farm with their former enslaver's widow Alpha Scruggs and her sons Ed Jr, Theo and Young (the Confederate veteran) in the Southall area of Franklin, although by the 1870 Federal Census Ned's mother seems to have died. 

1870 Federal Census from Williamson County, District 5, showing Alfred Scruggs heading a household of various perhaps unrelated members and living next door to Alpha Scruggs, the widow of their former enslaver, as well as her children Ed, Theo and Young.
Ned's brother Harry had married and was also living in Williamson County working as a stone mason.  Ned's brother Burt also married and remained farming the Scruggs farm through at least the 1880s. 

However, the strains of slavery and the wartime separation appear to have been too much for Ned and Mary's relationship and the marriage ended soon after his return from the War. This what their oldest son Lundy said in a pension request:
When he [Ned] got out of the army he came back to my mother and they lived again as man and wife till he left this county. I think he stayed with my mother a year or two after he came back from the army. I know they called themselves man and wife here after the war & were so recognized till they parted. I do not know why they parted. I never saw my father after he left here, but he went to Giles County from here. I never heard if he went to Nashville. I know my father and mother never were divorced. He married again though in Giles County. I heard of it and heard of him again 3 or 4 times a year. I think he married another Mary after he left my mother that we heard was in Giles Co. Tenn.
Lundy was right - Ned did marry another Mary in 1868 in Giles County.  But sadly she and their young son died in 1872.  Ned married a third time, to Celia Ann Suttles on "Zach Bradshaw's place" in Giles County, Tennessee.  The couple had a son George, but then Celia died as well.  In 1874, Ned - who seems to have been an incurable romantic - rolled the dice again and married Elvira Maples on December 12, 1874 when he was 38 years old - almost exactly ten years after he had participated in the Battle of Nashville.  This time his luck had changed and the marriage would last the rest of his life.



Ned settled down as a farmer in Giles County, Tennessee with Elvira raising his son George.  In the 1880 Census, Ned was listed as being 49 years old, Elvira was 24 and Ned's son George was 9 years old.  

In 1883 Ned Scruggs filed for a pension based on the injuries he received during Hood's retreat and his injury sustained while working to build breastworks at Johnsonville.  

Around this time, Ned and Elvira moved to Limestone County, Alabama and started their own family of three children - Martha Ann (b. 1884), Joseph (b. 1887) and son Neshy (b. 1891).  The year that their youngest son Neshy was born, Ned was 54 years old.  Ned was working as a "stone or rock mason and farmer" according to his pension records.



In the 1900 Federal Census, Ned and Elvira were renting a farm in Gilbertsboro, Limestone County, Alabama where they were farming.  Their sons Joseph & Neshy and daughter Martha Ann were living with them.  Ned and Joseph could read and write.  Ned was listed as 77 years old, although my calculations put it him at 64 years old.  He died on February 6, 1908 in Elmont, Limestone, Alabama.  I have not been able to locate his grave.
SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave

Sunday, June 4, 2017

Saving the Fort Negley Park

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you have probably seen references to Fort Negley in Nashville and the important role it played in the history of African Americans as they transitioned from enslaved to free.
A postcard depicting Fort Negley 
During the summer of 1862, thousands of enslaved people - men, women and children - fled businesses, farms and plantations in Williamson County and throughout middle Tennessee seeking freedom and protection that they believed would come from being close to the US forces who had arrived in Nashville that spring. However, many of them were instead impressed by these troops as laborers to build several fortifications, including Fort Negley - the largest inland stone fort constructed during the Civil War.



"Impressing the Contrabands at Church in Nashville", 
from Fitch, Annals of the Army of the Cumberland. 
(Philadelphia, J B. Lippincott, 1864), p. 665. 



The Tennessee State Library and Archives has available on their website an index to the "Employment Rolls and Nonpayment Rolls of Negroes Employed in the Defense of Nashville, Tennessee, 1862-1869." Mf. 1797 and Mf. 1910 . According to their website "These rolls primarily represent employment records of free blacks and slaves who were hired or impressed into the Union Army to work as laborers on fortifications of Tennessee." An index to the names on the employment rolls is available on the Library and Archives web site. There are over 2,770 names on this list. Many of these individuals were not paid for their work. The majority of them worked to build Fort Negley from August 13 to December 7, 1862.

This Confederate map entitled "Plan of Section of Nashville and Edgefield, Tennessee" includes a nice description and sketch of Fort Negley. "This Fort and all the works for the defense of Nashville were constructed by contrabands [escaped slaves] . . . " https://catalog.archives.gov/id/70653122
On November 23, 1863, Major General George Stearns, the Commissioner for the Organization of African American troops in Middle and East Tennessee gave testimony before the American Freedmen's Inquiry Commission. He was very candid when described one example of the injustices suffered by the formerly enslaved:
One case will suffice for all. Brig. Gen. Morton, now of the Engineer Corps, was ordered by Gen. Buell, a year ago last July, to superintend the fortifications of Nashville. It was a very important work; and, as he told me this morning, they collected by impressment and by voluntary offer of service, some three thousand negroes to work on the fortifications. They were obliged to give them poor food, because they had nothing better; they had no tents, and slept in the open air. These men lived upon inferior meat & bread,–the refuse, of course, of the army supplies,–& slept on the hill-side at night. He says they worked well, and through all that were cheerful, although in the fifteen months that they have been employed at that fort–Fort Negley–about 800 have died. He says he thinks it was necessary, because, by the building of that fort, at that time, the safety of Nashville was secured, and we were enabled to hold Nashville, instead of making a stand at Fort Donelson.
When asked by the Commission how these laborers had been paid, he answered: "They never have been paid." Later he added, "At this time, there are a large number of them [the laborer's wives and children] who are destitute, because the soldiers and laborers on the fortifications have never been paid."

Major General Stearns, who was initially in charge of recruiting African American men into the US Colored Troops, was later quoted in a Boston newspaper describing the situation this way:
The (Boston) Liberator, May 6, 1864 

This issue about the men that ultimately enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry is particularly relevant to Williamson County.  About 50 men from Williamson County enlisted in that Regiment and of those 50 the names of about 60% appear on the Employment Rolls and Nonpayment Rolls of Negroes Employed in the Defenses of Nashville, Tennessee, 1862-1863
  • Beach, Austin [Bench] enlisted in the12th US Colored Infantry Co F, on 8/12/1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County (Franklin) - two men listed as laborers with this name - laborer #498, 2319
  • Swansey, Warren, enlisted in the12th US Colored Infantry Co F, on 8/12/1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County (Franklin), appears as laborer #2642
  • Swanson, Ben 2nd (Swansey), enlisted in the12th US Colored Infantry Co F,on 8/12/1863,in Nashville born in Williamson County (Franklin) , appears as laborer #2643
  • Mays, George, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry Co A, on July 21, 1863, at the Elk River, born in Williamson County, appears as Laborer #399
  • Strong, James, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry Co A, on Sept. 14, 1863, at the Elk River, born in Williamson County, appears as Laborer #388
  • Sneed, John, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry Co G, on Aug. 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County, listed as laborer #2255
  • Gaines, John, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry Co H, on Aug. 12, 1863,in Nashville, born in Williamson County, listed as laborer #2427
  • Jordan, Daniel, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry Co H, on Aug. 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County, listed as Laborer #2507
  • Ledbetter, Harvey, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry Co H, on Aug. 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County, listed as Laborer Herry Ledbetter #2531
  • Hughes, Adam, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry Co I, on Aug. 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County, listed as Laborer #2453
  • Oglesby, Elijah (Ogleby), enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry Co I, on Aug. 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County, listed as Laborer #2589
  • King, George, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry Co K, on Aug. 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County; three men with this name are listed as laborers - #s 1006, 1453, and 2513
  • Petway, Frank enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry Co K, on August 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County, listed as laborer #329
  • Pratt, Augustus, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry Co K, on Aug. 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County, listed as laborer "Guss Pratt" #892
  • Rawlston, Ephraim, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry Co K, on Aug. 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County, listed as laborer "Ephraim Raelston" #2630
  • Reece, Joseph, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry Co K, on Aug. 12, 1863,in Nashville, born in Williamson County, listed as laborer #2632
  • Waddy, Robert, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry Co K, on Aug. 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County, listed as laborer "Robert Wade" #89
  • Johnson, Thomas, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry Co. H, on Aug. 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County, two laborers with this name appear on the list Files #500 and 2506
  • Bradford, Carl, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry, Co B, on September 23, 1864, in Kingston, born in Williamson County, this might be laborer Charles Bradford, #1184
  • Cartwright, Jefferson, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry, Co K, on Aug. 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson, listed as laborer #2352
  • Helm, Claiborn, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry, Co K, on Aug 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County, listed as laborer #2459
  • Ewing, Andrew, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry, Co. B , on Aug. 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County, two laborers with this name appear #953, 2406
  • Compton, Mills, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry, Co. F, on Aug 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County, two men named "Miles Compton" appear as laborers #483, 2358
  • Berry, Washington, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry, Co. G, on Aug. 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County, two laborers with this name appear #240, 2310
  • Terrill, Archie, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry, Co. I,on  Aug. 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County, this is laborer "Archy Terrill" #2684
  • Cater, Isaac[Carter?], enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry, Co. I / K?, on Aug. 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County, listed as laborer #2368
  • Ensley, Michael “Mike”, enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry, Co. K, on Aug. 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County, listed as laborer #2088
  • Thomas, Freeman Enlisted under the name Freeman Cruthers (Carothers) , enlisted in the 12th US Colored Infantry, Co. K,on Aug 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County, not listed on the rolls but identifies himself as a laborer in his pension
  • Andrews, James, enlisted in the 12th US. Colored Infantry, Co. G, on August 12, 1863, in Nashville, born in Williamson County, listed as laborer # 2278
"Impressing Negroes to Work on the Nashville Fortifications," Annuals of the Army of the Cumberland, John Fitch, 1864

Nashville Globe, January 31, 1913
Another man who helped build Fort Negley was James Harding.  His life's story was chronicled in this newspaper article that appeared in 1913.  He tells the harrowing tale of his escape from the Nashville plantation when he was 12 years old where he was enslaved.  He joined the US Army as a mule team driver helping to build Fort Negley.  For fear of retribution from his former master he carried a pistol.  

A large number of the men who worked on the Fort with James would have been from Williamson County.  From my research I can "connect the dots" for about 70 men of these Williamson Countians who were likely among these impressed laborers.

One of these men was Freeman Thomas (you can read more about his life here). In his pension application late in life he stated that, "The authorities had me and a good many others (colored men) at work on the works on Fort Negley and they took us and put us in the Regiment and made soldiers out of us."


You will see many familiar Williamson County names on this list - perhaps your own last name? These men were mostly born around 1840 and could be the great-great or great-great-great grandfathers of people living today.

Recently, the City of Nashville has declared the land around Fort Negley to be "surplus" and is planning to develop it and allow condominiums and retail development on part of the lan
d. The Mayor's Office has hired archaeologist to look for the buried bodies of those laborers who did not survive the construction of the Fort and other "contrabands" (runaway slaves).  The Mayor's Office says if archaeologists find human remains in #FortNegleyPark they will “determine the best way to honor and preserve the history of the site in a way that activates this property for the betterment of the community today and into the future." Currently their plan for part of the Park is to allow retail and housing to be built in it. The literal blood, sweet and tears that were shed there should not be paved over.  This is the wrong place for such development.  

Instead, Nashville needs to - for the first time - fully tell the story of what happened in Nashville during the Civil War.  The region has never embraced its Civil War history - the good, bad and the ugly.  The whole history needs to be told and there is no better place than Fort Negley Park.  By reclaiming the land and continuing to preserve it as a Park, Nashville would be honoring the 800 who died there and the 2,771 who built this remarkable place.

By contrast to Nashville's approach of wanting to pave over its history, the original "contraband" or refugee camp around Fort Monroe in Virginia is undergoing an archaeological review right now - see this article. For more information you can also read this article.

To learn more visit the Friends of Fort Negley's website  - https://savenashvilleparks.org or follow them on Twitter -  https://twitter.com/SaveNashParks  The Park itself is also on Twitter -

https://twitter.com/FortNegley


If you believe that you may be a descendant of one of the men who worked on Fort Negley and later enlisted in the US Colored Troops - please contact me. Your voice may be particularly compelling in explaining why the land around Fort Negley still needs to be saved and fully explored.

Section of Freeman Thomas' Pension Application regarding his work on Fort Negley 
and enlistment in the 12th US Colored Infantry
Sgt Bird Johnson, 12th USCI, statement in Sgt Andrew Ewing's pension file in 1903 regarding the fact that they both were working on fortifications around Nashville, including Fort Negley, and then both enlisted in the 12th USCI in August 1863.

********************************************************************************************************

October 6, 2017 at 12 noon, Historic Nashville, Inc. announced that rather than announcing the list of Nashville's nine historic properties endangered by demolition, neglect or development they would put all their eggs in one basket and instead nominate just one - Fort Negley - the "Nashville One". Every year, the Nashville Nine list is compiled through a public nomination process revealing historic buildings and places that matter to the people of our city. 

Saturday, June 3, 2017

Equality in Pay for the USCT


Very often when I am researching one of the veterans from Williamson County, I encounter an issue or term that I'm not familiar with and it takes me down an investigative path or "rabbit hole" that turns out to be one significant to understanding the US Colored Troops in a larger context. Its not surprising really - each man is a case study of their broader experience. So please indulge me as we take a side trip to discuss the phrase "Free on or Before April 19, 1861" and how that led to an exploration of the fight for equal pay by the African American veterans of the Civil War.

As I was compiling my research into the men from Williamson County who served in the US Colored Troops I would occasionally come across a note in their file that they were "Free on or before April 19, 1861."  At first, I was thrilled!  I thought that this was clear evidence of their status before the War - information that is often very scant.  However, the more I looked into it, the more I realized that this information may not be entirely reliable and that there is much more to the story than just their possible emancipation status.
Notation of "Free on or before Apr. 19, 1861" in William Holmes' military records. Private Holmes served in the 5th Massachusetts Colored Cavalry. He settled and died in Williamson County, Tennessee after the War.
To understand why this notation was in the men's files in the first place, we need to skip forward a little, though, to 1862.

Section 6 of the Militia Act of 1862 gave President Lincoln the authority to arm African American men (slaves or free) by borrowing language from the Emancipation Proclamation. Within it Congress embedded a provision that provided for the unequal payment of African American and white soldiers:
SEC. 12. And be it further enacted, That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized to receive into the service of the United States, for the purpose of constructing intrenchments, or performing camp service or any other labor, or any military or naval service for which they may be found competent, persons of African descent, and such persons shall be enrolled and organized under such regulations, not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws, as the President may prescribe.
. . .

SEC. 15. And be it further enacted, That all persons who have been or shall be hereafter enrolled in the service of the United States under this act shall receive the pay and rations now allowed by law to soldiers, according to their respective grades: Provided, That persons of African descent, who under this law shall be employed, shall receive ten dollars per month and one ration, three dollars of which monthly pay may be in clothing.
Under this authority, Congress provided that African American soldiers would be paid only $10 per month with $3 monthly that could be deducted for their uniforms. During this time, white privates were paid $13.50 per month. As you can imagine, this did not sit well with many - both black and white.  Initially it was relevant primarily for the men serving in the individual state's African American regiments - the first to be formed - such as the famed 54th & 55th Massachusetts Infantries and 5th Massachusetts Cavalry.  When the USCT was established on May 22, 1863, this section of the Militia Act applied to them as well.  The discriminatory payment was seen by many as a default on a promise to the soldiers who had enlisted.  The soldiers themselves obviously felt this way but so did the Governors and many of the officers who had recruited and enlisted them.  
Letter from Corporal Gooding
National Archives

In September of 1863 Corporal James Henry Gooding of the 54th Massachusetts sent a letter to President Lincoln pleading their case.  Corporal Gooding was not new to writing eloquent letters - he had been a war correspondent for northern newspapers since his enlistment.  In his letter to the President, he eloquently asked, "Are we soldiers or are we laborers? . . . You caution the Rebel Chieftain, that the United States knows no distinction in her Soldiers. She insists on having all her Soldiers of whatever creed or Color, to be treated according to the usages of War. Now if the United States exacts uniformity of treatment of her Soldiers from the Insurgents, would it not be well and consistent to set the example herself by paying all her Soldiers alike?"




In December of 1863 Secretary of War Stanton made his annual report in which he extolled the performance of the African American troops thus far in the War effort and recommended the removal of the discriminatory provisions. 
Reverend Samuel Harrison,
Photo courtesy of the Samuel Harrison House

The following spring, Governor John A. Andrew of Massachusetts tried to force the issue. In March, 1864, at Governor Andrew's request, Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner delivered a petition, along with a letter from the Governor, to President Lincoln asking him to have Attorney General Edward Bates investigate a claim by Reverend Samuel Harrison, a chaplain - and thereby an African American officer - in the 54th Massachusetts Infantry.  Rev. Harrison had requested pay of $100 per month - the standard pay for a chaplain in the Army; the paymaster in Hilton Head (where they were stationed) refused.  


Outline of the Facts and Finding of the Attorney General's Opinion Regarding the Case
 of Reverend Samuel Harrison, Chaplain of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry
On April 23, 1864 the Attorney General ruled on the case in favor of Rev. Samuel Harrison. In summarizing his analyses of the various applicable laws he came to this conclusion:
To assume that because Mr. Harrison is a person of African descent he shall draw only the pay which the law establishes for the class it obviously refers to, and be deprived of the pay which another law specifically affixes to the office he lawfully held would be, in my opinion, a distortion of both laws, not only unjust to him, but in plain violation of the purpose of Congress. . . . I am also of opinion that your constitutional obligation, to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, makes it your duty to direct the Secretary of War to inform the officers of the pay department of the army that such is your view of the law, and I do not doubt that it will be accepted by them . . . 
The issue appeared to be settled for black officers by virtue of this ruling but pressure was building to address it for the lower ranking men.  The northern regiments in particular were protesting the unfair payments and the results were occasionally violent.  In a few instances soldiers had been courtmartialed and several executed for perceived mutiny in protesting the lower payments.  The Sea Island area off of Georgia - where the South Carolina and Massachusetts  regiments were stationed - was the nexus of the violence and protests.  A good article that goes into more detail is available here. And this article describes what a tinderbox the Massachusetts regiments had become over the issue. 

As cries for reform grew louder from the soldiers, their officers, sympathetic Congressmen and portions of the public - especially in the North- Congress decided to address the problem through an amendment to the appropriations bill for the Army.   Major George Stearns who had recruited soldiers right here in the Nashville area even resigned his post, partly over this issue as is nicely described in this article.


The (Boston) Liberator, Friday, May 6, 1864, p1
However, as the bill worked its way through Congress, revisions introduced a distinction between pay for those who were free when they enlisted and those who enlisted as men who had been enslaved.

On May 23, 1864, Massachusetts Senator Sumner wrote President Lincoln a letter from the Senate Chambers and attached a memo describing his concerns about the new bill.  I am going to transcribe them below because with some commentary because I think his analysis and his description of the history of the process is interesting. 
Charles Sumner to Abraham Lincoln, Monday, May 23, 1864
Senate Chamber, 23d May '64

My dear Sir,
 The Senate attached its Bill to equalize pay -- as an amendment to the Army appropriation Bill. This bill is identical with the first two pages which you showed me last evng.
The enclosed memdm will show how the Army Bill now stands.
Should the House amendment prevail, it would, probably, exclude most persons in the two [South Carolina] regiments & also in the [Louisiana] regiments from its benefits [because they were composed primarily of former slaves]; but it would cover the [Massachusetts] regiments [because most of those men had been free when they enlisted since Massachusetts was a free state].
Faithfully yours,
Charles Sumner

His summary continues . . .
Charles Sumner to Abraham Lincoln, Monday, May 23, 1864


Charles Sumner to Abraham Lincoln, Monday, May 23, 1864
Army Appropriations Bill HR 198, Now in Committee of Conference, Senate Attached its Bill (No. 145) equalizing the pay of white and colored soldiers as an amendment to the above entitled act (HR 198).  The House concurred? in the Senate amendment as follows: "Strike out Section 4 and insert as follows 'That all free persons of color who have been or may be mustered into the military service of the United States shall, from the date of their enlistment, receive . . .   the same uniforms, clothing, arms, equipment, camp, equipage, rations, medical & hospital attendants, pay & _____ & bounty as other soldiers of the regular or volunteer forces of the US or like arm of the service.'  The above amendment is in lieu of the section giving full pay from the date of enlistment to all colored soldiers to whom it had been promised by authority of the War Department.


Charles Sumner to Abraham Lincoln, Monday, May 23, 1864

See Edwin M. Stanton to Edward Bates, June 17, 1864; Bates to Stanton, June 20, 1864; Lincoln to Bates, June 24, 1864; and Stanton to Lincoln, June 24, 1864.]


On June 15, 1864, the 34th Congress of the United States passed this bill which codified the language "free on the 19th day of April, 1861."

Section 15, as enacted, US Congressional Documents website 



http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=013/llsl013.db&recNum=157

On June 17, 1864, President Lincoln wrote to Attorney General Bates requesting his opinion as to the effect the new law would have on the attempt to equalize pay for African American soldiers:
“I require your opinion in writing as to what pay, bounty, and clothing are allowed by law to persons of color who were free on the 19th day of April, 1861, and who have been enlisted and mustered into the military service of the United States between the month of December, 1862 and the 16th of June 1864. Please answer as you would do, on my requirement, if the act of June 15th 1864 had not been passed; and I will so use your opinion as to satisfy that act.”
Attorney General Edward Bates replied to President Lincoln a few days later - his correspondence displays his confusion regarding the law’s impact on black soldiers and on his new role is overseeing the law:
On Saturday afternoon I had the honor to receive your letter of the 17th (Friday), with a copy of the act of Congress of June 15. 1864, and a request for my opinion upon a question “in reference to what pay, bounty and clothing is allowed by law, to persons of color who were free on the 19th day of April 1861, and who have been enlisted and mustered into the military service of the United States, between the month of December 1862, and the 16th of June 1864.”
I confess myself at a loss to know (so as to answer satisfactorily to myself) the precise meaning of the question, or the precise point upon which a doubt exists in your Department, as to the amount of pay, bounty and clothing of the persons indicated, under laws passed prior to the 15th of June 1864.
I am the more induced to desire a specific statement of the question, because the 4th section of the act (of June 15, 1864) to which you refer, is very peculiar in its phraseology. It does not give, or purport to give to the class of troops indicated, any thing whatever, to which they had not a perfect right, by prior laws. It provides only that they shall “be entitled to receive the pay, bounty and clothing allowed to such persons by the laws existing at the time of their enlistment.” It seems to me therefore that any question as to the amount of pay, bounty and clothing to be paid to such troops, must, of necessity, arise under the previous laws, and not under the act of June 15. 1864. And I should be ready to comply, with alacrity, with your request for an opinion upon any specific question of law, arising under any of those prior acts.
But the said 4th section is very peculiar, in another respect. It does not require the Attorney General to give any opinion to any officer. That is amply provided for by other statutes, which make it his duty, in the cases specified, to give “opinion and advice” to the President and the Heads of Departments. But it goes far beyond that. It purports to make him a final judge of the matter, by enacting that “the Attorney General of the United States is hereby authorized to determine any question of law arising under this provision ” i.e. this 4th section. And this is clearly a new and special delegation of power, to hear and determine questions of law, without and beyond the general duty of the Attorney General, to give opinion and advice to the President and the heads of Departments.
I make these suggestions sir, upon the supposition that there may be questions arising under the acts prior to that of June 15. 1864, touching the pay, bounty, and clothing of the persons indicated, and that, if so, you will be pleased to direct the question to be so stated as to enable me to give direct and specific answers, which I will endeavor to do, with all convenient speed.
It appears as though Congress was trying to address the issue for the northern regiments in particular - such as the men from Massachusetts regiments (who were presumed to have been "Free before April 19th".) This was problematic from the start and presented many difficulties.

New York Tribune, August 12, 1864
This letter to the the Editor of the New York Tribune published August 12, 1864 laid out the problems nicely.  The author, Colonel Thomas Wentworth Higginsworth, was a colonel of an African American regiment raised in South Carolina and an ardent abolitionist. His letter criticizes the Army for creating such a complicated payment system that seems calculated purely to try to save a few dollars and he went on to say, "But the Government should have thought of this before it made the contract with these men and received their services. When the War Department instructed Brigadier-General Saxton, August 25, 1862, to raise five regiments of negroes in South Carolina, it was known very well that the men so enlisted had only recently gained their freedom. But the instructions said: "The persons so received into service, and their officers, to be entitled to and receive the same pay and rations as are allowed by law to volunteers in the service." Of this passage Mr. Solicitor Whiting wrote to me: "I have no hesitation in saying that the faith of the Government was thereby pledged to every officer and soldier enlisted under that call."  Where is that faith of the Government now?
The men who enlisted under the pledge were volunteers, every one; they did not get their freedom by enlisting; they had it already. They enlisted to serve the Government, trusting in its honor. Now the nation turns upon them and says: Your part of the contract is fulfilled; we have had your services. If you can show that you had previously been free for a certain length of time, we will fulfil the other side of the contract. If not, we repudiate it. Help yourselves, if you can.  In other words, a freedman (since April 19, 1861) has no rights which a white man is bound to respect. He is incapable of making a contract. No man is bound by a contract made with him. Any employer, following the example of the United States Government, may make with him a written agreement receive his services, and then withhold the wages. He has no motive to honest industry, or to honesty of any kind. He is virtually a slave, and nothing else, to the end of time.
Under this order, the greater part of the Massachusetts colored regiments will get their pay at last and be able to take their wives and children out of the almshouses, to which, as Governor Andrew informs us, the gracious charity of the nation has consigned so many. . . ."

This letter is so interesting for many reasons - the support the white officer gives to his troops, the eloquent cry for fairness, the mention of the poverty facing the families of the Massachusetts regiments (and presumably still facing the families of the men of the South Carolina regiments), and the discussion of how this decision could impact opinions of Americans in greater society regarding the willingness to honor contracts with African Americans.

Circular No. 60 - August 1, 1864

Six weeks later, on August 1, 1864, by order of the Secretary of War, Circular No. 60 went into effect - this was the military order that implemented the June 1864 legislation; it stated: 
"all officers commanding. . . colored troops, will immediately make a thorough investigation and examination of the men belonging to their commands who were enlisted prior to January 1, 1864, with a view to ascertaining who of them were free men on or before April 19, 1861; the fact of freedom to be determined in each case on the statement of the soldier, under oath, takin in connection with the most reliable information that can be obtained from other sources."

In other words, the white officers were to question their African American soldiers and ask them (under oath) whether they were free before the pertinent date. Those men who were determined to have been free on or before that date were to be:

"mustered for pay accordingly. Such muster shall be authority for the Pay Department to pay said soldiers from the time of their entry into service to the 1st day of January, 1864, the difference between the pay received by them as soldiers under their present enlistments and the full pay allowed by law at the same period to white soldiers."

So this meant that those men that swore to their freedom before the specified date would be rewarded with additional pay. While it doesn't state it in this order the difference in pay amounted to this:
  • The men who had been free BEFORE the date were to be paid $13 per month and allowed $3.50 per month for clothing (for a total of $16.50) 
  • The men who had been free AFTER the date received $7 per month and were allowed $3 per month for precisely the same articles of clothing (for a total of $10) 
This oath reportedly led one creative colonel in the 54th Massachusetts to contrive way of asking that left some wiggle room; he asked his soldiers to swear that they “owed no man unrequited labor on or before the 19th day of April, 1861.” It is believed that sometimes sympathetic officers may have looked the other way when southern men who had clearly been enslaved said they had been free - or in some cases - in order to help equalize the pay they just went ahead and wrote on their statements that they were free.  If you come across a statement that your ancestor was "free on or before the 19th day of April 1861" and have no other evidence regarding his status I would encourage you to take this with a grain of salt.  Look for them as a free person of color in the census for 1860 and previous years.  But also look for other evidence that they may have been enslaved.  Unfortunately I don't think you can rely on this statement that this is clear evidence of their free status.

Ultimately, Congress provided for back pay and equity for all African American troops with the Enrollment Act, passed on March 3, 1865.