55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Company K

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Readville, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States
Surname/tag: us_civil_war, USCT, united_states_colored_troops, usbh, united_states_black_heritage

On 26 January 1863, Governor John Andrew of Massachusetts received authorization from the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, to recruit black men into the Union Army for the first time. Although Governor Andrew would have preferred that at least some of the commissioned officers be black men, he was overruled. The units were to be segregated units with white officers.

Regimental Colors.

This unit saw heavy losses at the Battle of Honey Hill on 30 November 1864.

"Determined attacks were launched by U.S. Colored Troops including a brigade led by Alfred S. Hartwell that included the 54th Massachusetts and 55th Massachusetts.[4] The position of the Federal force was such that only one section of artillery could be used at a time, and the Confederates were too well entrenched to be dislodged. Fighting kept up until dark when Hatch, realizing the impossibility of successfully attacking or turning the flank of the enemy, withdrew to his transports at Boyd’s Neck, having lost 89 men killed, 629 wounded, and 28 missing. The Confederate casualties amounted to eight killed and 39 wounded."^[1]

Contents 1 Resources 2 Company K Enlisted Soldiers 2.1 Recruits 3 Sources

Resources

• Fox, Charles Barnard. Record of the Service of the Fifty-Fifth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, Cambridge, Massachusetts : Press of John Wilson and Son, July, 1868.
• 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Blog
• Voices of the 55th; Letters of Volunteers

Company K Enlisted Soldiers

The following chart contains the names of the men from Company K as listed on pages 142-144 of Charles Barnard Fox's book (see resources above). Links to the other companies of the 55th Massachusetts:

• Space:55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Company A
• Space:55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Company B
• Space:55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Company C
• Space:55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Company D
• Space:55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Company E
• Space:55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Company F
• Space:55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Company G
• Space:55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Company H
• Space:55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Company I

Name	Age	Rank	Residence	Occupation	Remarks	Connected?
Abbott, Wiley	18	PVT	New Richmond OH	farmer	deserted Orangeburg SC, 4 Jul 1865	b. AL; possibly a match to Wiley Abbott (abt.1846-); research needed
Armstead, Archer	23	PVT	Frankort OH	farmer
Ash, Jacob	23	PVT	Adams Co OH	farmer		b. Halifax, NC; AKA Armour Anderson; d. 16 Jun 1913; bur. Frankfort, Ross, Oh
Andrew Berry (abt.1840-1865)	23	PVT	Augusta VA	farmer	d. 9 Apr 1865 chronic diarrhea
Hezekiah Bird (abt.1845-1926)	18	PVT	Frankfort OH	farmer
Edward Black (1834-1893)	26	PVT	Chillicothe OH	farmer	CPL 1 Sep 1864	b. Fincastle VA
Alonzo Boon (abt.1841-1864)	22	CPL	Boston MA	laborer	SGT 1 Sep 1863; wounded 2 Jul 1864; Folly Island SC 3 Jul 1864 wounds
Morris Bradley (abt.1845-1864)	18	PVT	Hillsboro OH	farmer	died Steamer Cosmopolitan 16 Feb 1864 disease
Brown, Thomas J.	20	CPL	Zanesville OH	farmer	wounded 2 Jul 1864; disch Jul 1865 wounds
Bryant, Enoch	17	PVT	Washington DC	hack driver	discharged Folly Island SC 21 Nov 1863 general disability
Bryant, John W.	19	PVT	HIllsboro OH	farmer	died Folly Island SC 21 Nov 1863 general debility
Burns, William H.	30	PVT	Ross Co OH	farmer
Burton, Emery	22	PVT	Jacksonville IL	farmer	died Newbern NC 11 Aug 1863 disease
Campbell, Joseph	21	PVT	Highland Co OH	farmer
Carr, Joseph	23	PVT	Nashville TN	moulder
Carter, Joseph	18	PVT	Gilson Co IN	hostler
Caston, Jonathan L.	32	CPL	Cannonsburg PA	teacher	reduced 1 Sep 1864 discharged Folly Island SC 15 Sep 1864 disability
Chatman, Ransom	20	PVT	Xenia OH	farmer	wounded 2 Jul 1864; disch 13 Jul 1865 wounds
Clark, Lewis	18	PVT	Jacksonville IL	farmer
Cotton, Willis	20	PVT	Frankfort OH	farmer
Cowan, Cyrus	18	PVT	Troy OH	farmer	CPl 1 Jul 1865
Cross, David	18	PVT	Coomawalk WI	farmer
Cross, Edwin	19	PVT	Rock Co WI	barber
Dickinson, Walter C.	23	PVT	Ross Co OH	farmer	Castle Pinckney Charleston SC; sentence General Court Martial
Dickinson, Lewis	20	PVT	Parkersburg VA	farmer	murdered 7 May 1865 by PVT John Shaw
Essex, Andrew	16	PVT	Hillsboro OH	farmer	Disch Folly Island SC 27 Jun 1864 disability
Essex, Jacob	25	SGT	Venice OH	farmer	Reduced 1 Sep 1863; died Folly Island SC 13 Feb 1865 pneumonia
Evans, Armstead	41	PVT	Chillicothe OH	Cooper
Farris, William	22	CPL	Monongahela PA	Coal digger	reduce 15 Jul 1863
Fitzhughes, Lewis	31	PVT	Frankfort OH	farmer	hospital nurse
Flemming, Peter	29	SGT	Albany OH	teacher	Hill 30 Nov 1864
Garnes, Daniel	23	PVT	Park Co IN	farmer	Disch 8 Jun 1865 disability
Gayther, Benjamin	23	PVT	Columbia KY	bootmaker	disch Folly Island SC 15 Sep died 15 Oct 1864 general debility
Goin, Horace	36	CPL	Hillsboro OH	farmer	promoted SGT Sep 1863; disch Jul 1865 disability
Goin, Randall	23	PVT	Hillsboro OH	farmer
Gray, Charles	20	PVT	Frankfort OH	farmer	CPL 14 Jul 1865
Green, James	18	PVT	Xenia OH	farmer	Deserted Readville MA 28 Jan 1863
Griffin, Benjamin	21	PVT	Lexington KY	farmer	killed in action 2 Jul 1864
Harvey, Claudius	19	PVT	Lexington KY	confectioner
Henderson, John	21	PVT	Ripley OH	farmer
Hicks, Charles	20	PVT	Cambridge OH	farmer	disch Readville MA 27 Oct 1863 disability	nearly blind from disease contracted at camp pg. 13 voices
Hicks, John L.	20	PVT	Greenfield OH	blacksmith
Jackson, Robert	24	PVT	Hillsboro OH	farmer	CPL 1 Nov 1863; wounded 30 Nov 1864
January, Samuel	28	PVT	Brighton Co KY	farmer	wounded 2 Jul 1864; wounded 30 Nov 1864
Johnson, Charles	22	PVT	St Charles MS	hostler
Johnson, Isaiah	18	PVT	Boston MA	servant
Jones, Osborne	20	PVT	Ross Co OH	farmer
King, Robert	18	CPL	New Richmond OH	farmer	SGT 3 Jul 1864 Color SGT; killed 30 Nov 1864
Lewis, James	19	PVT Chillicothe OH	farmer	wounded 30 Nov 1864; deserted 4 Jul 1865
Logan, Edward	18	PVT	Bainbridge OH	farmer
Low, David	21	PVT	Columbus OH	farmer
Mayo, Henry	39	PVT	Chillicothe OH	farmer
McFarland, James	25	PVT	Hillsboro OH	cook
McPherson, George	23	PVT	Stebbinsville OH	farmer	CPL 1 Sep 1864; wounded 30 Nov 1864
Moore, Charles	19	PVT	Columbus GA	painter	CPL 23 Mar 1865; SGT Jul 1865
Moore, George W.	35	SGT	Columbus OH	turner	reduced 12 Oct 1863; CPL 1 Jan 1865; SGT 23 Mar 1865
Needham, Morris G.	17	PVT	Springfield OH	painter	Drummer; deserted 4 Jul 1865
Nelson, William	19	PVT	Frankfort OH	farmer
Payne, Jacob	20	PVT	Bainbridge OH	farmer	CPL 1 Sep 1864; disch Jul 1865 disability
Payne, Laurence	20	PVT	Frankfort OH	farmer	wounded 2 Jul 1864; wounded 30 Nov 1864
Payne, William	33	PVT	Jefferson Co MS	farmer	CPL 15 Jul 1863; reduced
Peril, Harrison	22	PVT	Mason Co KY	farmer
Rodman, Charles	19	PVT	Hillsboro OH	tobacco worker	wounded 30 Nov 1864; disch Jul 1865 wounds
Rodman, Joseph	22	PVT	Pike Co OH	farmer	died Newbern, NC 26 Jul 1863 measles
Reed, Robert	18	PVT	Mercer Co PA	barber
Rickcords, Edward	23	CPL	Boston MA	laborer	SGT 1 Nov 1863
Rickman, Finley	22	PVT	Ross Co OH	farmer	wounded 2 Jul 1864; died Beafort SC 25 1864 wounds
Rickman, Thomas	18	PVT	Bainbridge OH	farmer
Ross, James D.	26	PVT	Ross Co OH	laborer	deserted Jan 1865
Scott, Lewis	19	PVT	Orangeburg KY	farmer	died Folly Island SC 4 Nov 1863 dysentery
Selden, James	25	PVT	Hillsboro OH	farmer
Seward, George	22	PVT	Frankfort OH	farmer
Shaw, John	17	PVT	Wayne Co NC	blacksmith	deserted after release from arrest Jul 1865
Shelton, Henry	26	PVT	Augusta Co VA	farmer
Smith, Daniel	18	PVT	New Richmond OH	farmer	CPL 20 Aug 1863; reduced 22 Aug 1864
Smith, William H.	25	SGT	Urbana OH	farmer	reduced 1 Sep 1863
Stevenson, James W.	23	PVT	Jacksonville IL	blacksmith	wounded 30 Nov 1864; CPL Jul 1865
Stevenson, Leonard	22	PVT	Jacksonville IL	farmer
Steward, William	18	PVT	Ross Co OH	farmer
Stockley, Henry I.	21	PVT	Hayward Co OH	farmer	disch Folly Island SC 28 Jun disability
Thompson, John H.	20	PVT	Troy OH	farmer
James Monroe Trotter (1842-1892)	21	1SG	Grand Gulf MS	teacher	SGT Major 19 Nov 1863; 2LT 15 Jul 1865
Turner, Olmstead	27	CPL	Columbus OH	bootmaker	reduced 20 Aug 1863; re-appointed 12 Oct 1863; SGT 19 Nov 1863; wounded 30 Nov 1864
Waggoner, Peter	20	PVT	Ross Co OH	farmer	died Beaufort SC 15 Feb 1865 disease
Ward, Virginius	18	PVT	Pike Co OH	farmer	died Newbern NC 11 Aug 1863 disease
Marcus Wells (abt.1844-)	19	PVT	Burlington IA	farmer		No

Recruits

Name	Age	Rank	Residence	Occupation	Remarks	Connected?
William T. DeLancy (abt.1841-)*	23	PVT	Halifax NS	barber		No
F. J. Dickerson (abt.1839-abt.1865)*	25	PVT	Kinderhook NY	laborer	died Charleston SC Jul 1863 chronic diarrhea
Malvin M. Holmes (abt.1845-)*	19	PVT	Washington NC	laborer
Henry Jarvis (abt.1844-)*	20	PVT	Northampton Co VA	laborer	wounded 30 Nov 1864
William H. Jones (abt.1842-)*	22	PVT	St John NB	seaman
Thomas Magill (abt.1841-)*	23	PVT	Carlisle PA	cook
Charles H. Storms (abt.1835-)*	29	PVT	Vergenes VT	cook
William Williams (abt.1824-1864)*	40	PVT	Africa	seaman	died Folly Island SC 19 Aug 1864 typhoid fever
Joseph H. Bradley (abt.1845-)†	20	PVT	Boston MA	disch Jul 1865 disability
John Brown (abt.1842-)†	23	PVT	Kingston JAM	trader	disch Jul 1865 disability
William Brittan (abt.1819-)†	46	PVT	PA	waiter
Jacob H. Dubois (abt.1841-)†	24	PVT	Boston MA
Joseph McCarty (abt.1844-)†	21	PVT	Fall River MA	laborer
Isaac Thompson (abt.1844-)◊	21	PVT	Boston MA
Romulus Stanley (abt.1841-)♯	24	PVT	Concord
William Jackson (abt.1844-)☺	21	PVT	New Brunswick	laborer

(*) Recruited January 1864

(†) Recruited 12 March 1865

(◊) Recruited 15 April 1865

(♯) Recruited 17 April 1865

(☺) Recruited May 1865

Sources

1. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Battle of Honey Hill," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Honey_Hill&oldid=1177707444 : accessed December 21, 2023); citing Cardozo, Jacob Newton. Reminiscences of Charleston, digital images, (Internet Archive : accessed 21 December 2023); Charleston : Joseph Walker, Printer; 1866; pp. (117 of 159).