Private Edward Smith served in the United States Civil War. Side: USA
Edward H.[1] Smith was born about 1842[2] in Middletown[1], Pennsylvania. He served with the famous 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry during the US Civil War.
He stood about 5 feet and 7 inches (1.7m) tall with a light complexion, brown eyes, and black hair when he enlisted in 1863.[1]
1863: West Chester, Pennsylvania (military enlistment)[2]
Military Service
During the Civil War, he served as a Private in Company B of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry of the Union Army, the second[3] regiment in the United States made up entirely of enlisted men of color. He was about 21 years old, single and working as a farmer when he enlisted on 9 March 1863 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Mustered out 20 August 1865 with his regiment.[2]
Research Notes
Raymoure-1 18:53, 31 January 2023 (UTC): Possible census match?
The National Archives in Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M653; Residence Date: 1860; Home in 1860: Middletown, Delaware, Pennsylvania; Roll: M653_1105; Page: 449; Family History Library Film: 805105
Edward Smith / b. abt. 1843 Pennsylvania / White / Laborer / in household of the farming family of Ellen and Jesse Smedley
Light-skinned Black Americans are sometimes counted as white in census records, especially in Vermont around this time.
↑ and the first with federal recognition; the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry regiment was against the wishes of the Secretary of War and filled only six companies, but did see action a full year before the 54th
Fold3.com. "Records of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment (Colored), 1863-1865." National Archives Catalog #577134. "Regimental and Company Books of Civil War Volunteer Union Organizations, compiled 1861 - 1865." Free Access Civil War Records 1-15 April 2018.
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