According to an undated article from the Canton Repository written by Gary Brown at least two African Americans served in the 126th Ohio of the VI Corps. The soldiers were Abner and Hiram Gray. Abner enlisted in the 126th Ohio, Co. F on September 4, 1862, a fact born out by Civil War Data systems. Although the article states that his brother enlisted with Abner, the roster on CWD states that Abner’s brother Hiram enlisted in the same regiment two years later on August 30, 1864.
If it is true that Abner and Hiram Gray were African-American, it would make the 126th Ohio quite unique among U.S. Army units during the Civil War. However, I am not an expert by any means on this topic and my main purpose in writing this post is to call upon some of you who have studied the role of black soldiers in the Union Army for your input on this article. The definitive answer mostly likely rests at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. As I’ve said many times over the years, the next time I’m there…
I hope someone can shed some light on this and let me know how rare such an occurrence was in the Union army. I would like to thank Mike Robey of the Buckeye State for sharing a copy of this article with me many years ago. Mike had done a great deal of research on the 126th Ohio.
Interesting. Did they serve as cooks or teamsters, or were they regular foot soldiers? I found that the African-Americans in the 1st Alabama Cavalry (US) served mostly in support capacities, but were still officially on the muster rolls.
The article states that there is a post war framed document that credits Abner Gray with having participated in 17 battles from Martinsburg in June 1863 to Cedar Creek in October 1864. It appears that Abner at least was a combat soldier. Also, the Gray family was respected in Carrollton, Ohio and remained there after the war. The Gray brothers enlisted in their home town with the rest of the men.
The pre/post was census for Carroll County, Ohio confirms that the family was “Mulatto.” Their father Enoch was born in Virginia and moved or escaped to Ohio sometime before 1840; both Abner and Hiram were born in Ohio.
Does the history of the 126th make any mention? I don’t recall anything off the top of my head but I can grab it off the bookshelf when I get home this evening. Interesting stuff…keep us posted!
Thanks much. I’m going to have to take a day off and pull Abner and Hiram’s service and pension records. Abner is on the roster in Gilson’s History but I don’t think it mentions him elsewhere. The article states that Enoch Gray and his wife moved to Ohio from Franklin Co. PA in 1819 and purchased a 10 acre plot.
Aren’t there other accounts of African-Americans in Union regiments. I seem to recall a story about one being in a New Jersey Cavalry regiment.
Wonderful web page, exactly where did you obtain the web theme?
The theme is a prepackaged from word press.