William H Rigby (abt. 1842)

Born about 1842 in Chester, Pennsylvania, United States

Died [date unknown] in United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: K Raymoure [send private message]

Biography

William Rigby is a part of US Black heritage.

Private William Rigby served in the United States Civil War.
Side: USA

William H.^[1] Rigby was born about 1841^[2]-1842^[3] in Chester County^[4], Pennsylvania^[2].

He stood about 5 feet 8 inches (173m) with dark complexion, black eyes, and black hair when he enlisted in 1863.^[4]

Occupations

• 1860^[2], 1863^[3]: Farmer

Residences

• 1863: West Chester, Pennsylvania (military enlistment)^[3]
• 1860: Westtown, Pennsylvania (post office: West Chester) with the white farming Hickman family, 35-year-old Irish servant Bridget Mullin, 23-year-old Black farmer Nelson Williamson, and white 17-year-old Able Wallace^[2]

Military Service

Private William Rigby served in the United States Civil War.
Enlisted: Mar 11, 1863
Mustered out: Jun 24, 1865
Side: USA
Regiment(s): Co. B 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry

During the Civil War, he served as a Private in Company B of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the first regiment in the United States made up entirely of enlisted men of color. He was 21 years old, single and working as a farmer when he enlisted on 11 March 1863 in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He was wounded in action and captured on 18 July 1863 at the Second Battle of Fort Wagner. Miraculously, he survived the prisoner of war camps and was finally exchanged 4 March 1865 at Goldsboro, North Carolina. He was discharged from Annapolis, Maryland on 24 June 1865.^[3]

Of Charleston Jail, Captain Samuel C. Timson of the 95th NY had this to say:

There were twenty-one negro soldiers, most of them belonging to Colonel Shaw's Fifty-fourth Mass. regiment of immortal memory, among the number. They were never to be exchanged, but were to be reduced to slavery. They were all that were left of the colored troops captured at Wagner. The rest were bayoneted and shot after they surrendered. Their rations were bread and water; still they would sing Union songs, pouring their melody through their prison bars for the entertainment of the Union officers in the prison and below.^[5]

Military Service Pension

Application No. 198904 (December 1874)

Race

• 1860^[2]: Black

Projects

• 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry

Sources

1. ↑ Military pension index card
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} 1860 federal census
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Emilio, McKay Roster
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Regimental descriptive roll
5. ↑ Emilio, p. 415

• 1860 United States Federal Census 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: Westtown, Chester, Pennsylvania; Roll: M653_1094; Page: 791; Family History Library Film: 805094
• 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.)
• Fold3.com. "Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900." National Archives Catalog #2588825. "Organization Index to Pension Files of Veterans Who Served Between 1861 and 1900, compiled 1949 - 1949, documenting the period 1861 - 1942." Free Access Black History Collection Records 5-29 February 2020.
• 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.