U.S., Register of Colored Troop Deaths During the Civil War, 1861-1865

This database contains a register of deaths among United States Colored Troops who volunteered to serve with the Union Army in the American Civil War.

Historical Background

Though some black units had been raised and seen fighting prior to this, President Lincoln authorized the use of colored troops in combat in 1863, after the Emancipation Proclamation. The Bureau of Colored Troops was established by the United States War Department in May 1863 and was responsible for recruiting African-American soldiers to fight. About 175 regiments composed of 178,000 African-American troops served the Union in the final two years of the Civil War.

This register lists troops from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Kentucky, Georgia, with some miscellaneous entries, though the single volume in this database is not a comprehensive list of colored troops lost from any of these states.

Each entry lists

• name,
• rank,
• unit,
• cause, date, and place of death.

Some entries also include remarks.