Cornelius Price (abt. 1838 - 1864)

Born about 1838 in United States [uncertain]

Died 2 Jul 1864 at about age 26 in James Island, Charleston, South Carolina, United States

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Biography

Cornelius Price is a part of US Black heritage.

Private Cornelius Price served in the United States Civil War.
Side: USA

Occupations

• 1863: Farmer

Residences

• 1863: Underhill, Vermont (military enlistment)

Military Service and Death

Private in Company A of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry of the Union Army, the first regiment in the United States made up entirely of enlisted men of color. He was about 25 years old, single and working as a farmer when he enlisted on 7 August 1863 in Underhill, Vermont. He was killed (gunshot wound to the thigh^[1]) on James Island in South Carolina on 2 July 1864.

His death is mentioned in a letter written by Sergeant Samuel A. Valentine of Company B:

On the 1st day of July, we crossed the creek from Morris Island to Folly Island, and, marching to Stono Landing, we took the boat again and landed on Cole's Island at day-light. We then started at almost double quick for James Island, where the 55th Massachusetts regiment had charged upon the rebel works and taken two small guns; but with all our hurrying, we did not get there in time. Company B and F were sent to strengthen the skirmishing line; but when we got in line, the enemy was not to be seen. We lay there about two hours, the sun beaming down hotter than I ever felt in my life; there were a great many men sun-struck, and one man in the 54th died from the effect of the heat. Our loss was very light, only one man killed, Cornelius Price, of company A; he was struck with a shell from the rebel guns.^[2]

Projects

• 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry

Sources

1. ↑ Find a Grave information provided by volunteer Gail Black
2. ↑ Redkey, p. 67

• Emilio, Luis Fenollosa. History of the Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, 1863-1865, Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Book Co., 1891 (1st ed.) and 1894 (2nd ed.)
• Find a Grave: Cornelius Price
• Redkey, Edwin S. (editor) A Grand Army of Black Men: Letters from African-American Soldiers in the Union Army, 1861-1865. Cambridge University Press: 1992.