Freedom fighters of African descent

By the summer of 1863, the country had been at war with itself for two full years. The bloody battles between the armies of the Confederate States of America and the Union forces of the United States had yet to produce a decisive victor in the conflict -- except perhaps the disruption war was having on the practice of slavery. Cape Girardeau folks saw the frayed tradition of slavery disintegrating around them.

Fugitive slaves -- "contraband" (those owned by southern supporters) -- began to gather in town and outlying encampments of Union soldiers. Responding to the chaos of war, enslaved people saw the possibilities of freedom. They made their own decisions to risk leaving masters and sought the protection of Union forces. They came from outlaying farms throughout Cape Girardeau County, as well as surrounding counties of Perry, Scott, Bollinger and Ste. Genevieve. Others came from northeast Missouri, attached to Union regiments deployed for duty at Post Cape Girardeau. Many came as families. Men were put to work by Union officers in stables, as teamsters hauling water and firewood, digging rifle pits, moats, and raising earthen-walls of our four protective forts. Women and girls cooked and hand-labored through tubs of laundry. Young boys served as officer valets. Uncompensated and inadequately housed, the fugitives depended upon charity and shared rations.

Before the Civil War, the 3,650 residents of the Cape Girardeau township comprised a diverse mix of settler families originating from Virginia and North Carolina, immigrant families from France, Germany and Ireland, plus 464 enslaved, and 28 free persons of color. Families from southeastern states migrated with their slaves in early 1800s, and by 1860, represented second- and third-generation residents. European immigrants largely arrived in the 1830s. Many did not look favorably on slave ownership, but many nonetheless hired slave labor to boost their personal profit. The local economy was influenced by the uncompensated labor of slaves.

More Union soldiers were needed, and after legislative debate, the U.S. War Department began accepting volunteers from the untapped population of men of African descent in 1863. Though slavery was still legally practiced in Missouri, enlistment began in Cape Girardeau on June 18, 1863, and included refugees and the enslaved from the immediate city and countryside. From Union headquarters, in the Common Pleas Courthouse, enlistment officers examined volunteers and completed paperwork for the volunteers. In the course of 12 months, more than 200 men of color enlisted at Post Cape Girardeau for three years military service in United States Colored Infantry regiments. They served in five regiments (56th, 65th, 67th, 68th and 18th USCT), deployed in Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas.

The proactive role taken by our own people of African descent to fight for freedom laid dormant in our community's memory until recently. Careful research of primary sources -- federal military records, county archives, pension records, and federal censuses -- is restoring personal accounts of these soldiers, and their families, to reclaim a rightful place in our community history.