Indiana's 28th Colored Infantry Regiment, Camp Fremont
On November 30, 1863, the U.S. Department of War authorized Oliver P. Morton, Governor of Indiana and ally of Abraham Lincoln, to raise “one Regiment of infantry to be composed with colored men.” [1] This order was not unusual; since the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect on January 1, 1863, several black regiments, such as the 54th Massachusetts, had already been created. Prominent Indianapolis abolitionist Calvin Fletcher, Reverend Willis R. Revels of Indianapolis Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, and Garland White, another AME minister, were the recruiting officers for this newly ordered black regiment. [2] The recruits were trained at Camp Fremont, located near the south side of Fountain Square in Indianapolis. They were provided with clothing, instructed on the use of their weapons, and trained in military tactics by Captain Charles S. Russell. Upon completion of training, Russell was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on May 1, 1864, and the 28th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment was organized under his command. [3] The regiment left Indianapolis on April 24, 1864, heading to their first assignment at the defenses of Washington, D.C. [4] From there, they were posted at Camp Casey in Alexandria, Virginia to await their first battlefield assignment. [5] On June 21, 1864, the 28th Regiment saw their first combat near White House, Virginia. [6] Soon after, they faced their first major casualties accompanying General Philip H. Sheridan and his cavalry across several skirmishes throughout the Chickahominy swamps of Virginia. [7] The 28th Regiment emerged from the swamps of the Chickahominy River to join the Ninth Corps of the Army of the Potomac under General Ambrose E. Burnside. [8] Burnside’s troops were engaged in siege operations around Petersburg, Virginia, fighting to cut off the city’s important railroad supply line to the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. In an effort to decisively end the siege, generals approved a plan devised by the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. [9] This plan required the regiment, which largely consisted of Pennsylvanian coal miners, “to dig a 500 foot drift mine from the Union side of the line” underneath the Confederate position, “load the head of the mine with gunpowder, and blow it up,” whereupon “Union troops would charge the Confederate lines […] through the resulting crater.” [10] However, “the wide and deep crater” which resulted from the explosion the morning of July 30, 1864, “impeded advance as effectively as had the cannon of the Confederate battery.” [11] The Confederates regained their position in a decisive victory which resulted in heavy Union losses. Members of the U.S. Colored Troops were targeted specifically in “tragic executions of blacks who sought to surrender.” [12] The 28th Regiment faced heavy casualties in what came to be known as the Battle of the Crater, with 11 killed, 64 wounded, and 13 missing. [13] Less than a year after the 28th Regiment left Indianapolis, they marched into a defeated Richmond, Virginia. [14] The regiment was one of the first of the Union forces to make “triumphant entry into the fallen capital.” [15] The capture of Richmond on April 4, 1865 was swiftly followed by the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, “marking the end of the war.” [16] Though the war was over, however, the work of the 28th Regiment was not. First, they were assigned to guard the prisoners of war held at City Point, Virginia, a position which particularly made the captured Confederates’ “Southern blood boil.” [17] From there, the 28th Regiment journeyed to Corpus Christi, Texas, as one of “nearly forty colored regiments transported immediately after the war to the Rio Grande border and posts along the Gulf of Mexico to occupy former Confederate strong points and restore civil government.” [18] Finally, the 28th Regiment was mustered out of service and returned home to Indianapolis on January 8, 1866, where the “surviving 33 officers and 250 men” received a reception in their honor. [19] Life as a soldier during the Civil War was not easy. In addition to the stress and danger of battle, soldiers on both sides dealt with cramped conditions, inadequate food, and disease. For black soldiers, however, conditions were even more difficult. They encountered racism not just from the enemy, but from within their own ranks as well. Most officers of black units were white; the 28th Regiment was unusual in that they had a black Chaplain, AME minister Garland H. White. [20] Black Union soldiers also had three dollars’ lower pay per month than their white comrades, with fewer clothing rations as well. [21] Black units were often given the least desirable assignments; the nearly 40 black regiments that traveled with the 28th Regiment to Corpus Christi had “widespread opposition […] to being packed off to Texas at the very time they felt they had done their part to win the war and deserved to rejoin their families in freedom.” [22] The horrendous conditions in Corpus Christi only fueled this opposition; hundreds of the U.S. Colored Troops posted there died of disease within the first months after their arrival. [23] Nevertheless, the 28th Regiment, along with the nearly 180,000 black soldiers to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War, did their duty and their service was essential in preserving the Union. A historical marker commemorating the regiment’s valor was erected on the corner of Virginia Avenue and McCarty Street in Indianapolis in 2004. [24] The 28th Regiment served in a segregated Armed Forces. Black Union soldiers during the Civil War were relegated to their own units, most often commanded by white officers. This arrangement continued well into the twentieth century, with black Americans fighting in both World War I and II facing just as much discrimination on the front lines as they did at home. They were expected to fight “for the freedom of oppressed peoples abroad while simultaneously being subjected to oppression themselves.” [25] Only in 1948, with the issuance of Executive Order 9981 by President Truman, was the United States military finally integrated. This document declared that “there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin.” [26] More than 80 years after the 28th Regiment was mustered out of service, black American soldiers had the same rights as their white counterparts. In 2004, the Indiana Historical Bureau, Indiana War Memorials Commission, Andrew & Esther Bowman, and African American Landmarks Committee of Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, Inc. erected a historical marker at the site of Camp Fremont, to commemorate the training location of the 28th Regiment.
<p>[1] War Department Letter to Governor Morton, November 30, 1863. <br />[2] George P. Clark and Shirley E. Clark, “Heroes Carved in Ebony: Indiana’s Black Civil War Regiment, the 28th USCT,” Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History 7, no. 3 (1995): 6. <br />[3] John H. Eicher and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, p. 466<br />[4] Clark and Clark, “Heroes Carved in Ebony,” 9.[5]Ibid. <br />[6] Indiana Historical Bureau, “Indiana’s 28th Regiment: Black Soldiers for the Union,” The <br />Indiana Historian (1994): 7. <br />[7] “28th Regiment, United States Colored Troops,” Indiana War Memorials, accessed April 19, 2019, https://www.in.gov/iwm/2397.htm. <br />[8] Clark and Clark, “Heroes Carved in Ebony,” 9.<br />[9] Colin Hennessy and Brock E. Barry, “The Civil War Battle of the Crater: An Engineering Inspiration,” Civil Engineering 83, no. 9 (2013): 63. <br />[10] Ibid. <br />[11] Clark and Clark, “Heroes Carved in Ebony,” 10.<br />[12] Ibid. <br />[13] William F. Fox, Regimental Losses in the American Civil War 1861–1865, (Albany, NY: Albany Publishing Co., 1889), Chapter VI. <br />[14] Clark and Clark, “Heroes Carved in Ebony,” 5. [15] Ibid., 12. <br />[16] Indiana Historical Bureau, “Indiana’s 28th Regiment: Black Soldiers for the Union,” The Indiana Historian (1994): 13. <br />[17] Clark and Clark, “Heroes Carved in Ebony,” 12. [18] Ibid. <br />[19] Ibid., 14. <br />[20] Ibid., 7. <br />[21] Ibid. <br />[22] Ibid., 12. <br />[23] Ibid., 14. <br />[24] “28th Regiment USCT,” Indiana Historical Bureau, accessed September 26, 2019, https://www.in.gov/history/markers/3.htm. <br />[25] John L. Newby, “The Fight for the Right to Fight and the Forgotten Negro Protest Movement: The History of Executive Order 9981 and its Effect Upon Brown v. Board of Education and Beyond,” Texas Journal on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights 10, no. 1 (2004): 84. <br />[26] Harry S. Truman, “Executive Order 9981, Establishing the President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services,” July 27, 1948, National Archives Foundation, accessed November 19, 2019, https://www.archivesfoundation.org/documents/executive-order-9981-ending-segregation-armed-forces/. </p>
Student Authors: Allison Hunt and Emma Guichon <br />Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson<br />Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey
PHOTO & VIDEO:
28th-Regiment-US-Colored-Troops, attributed to Dictioneer at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:28th-Regiment-US-Colored-Troops.png
<a href="https://www.in.gov/history/markers/3.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indiana Historical Bureau: Historical Marker</a>
Freeman Field / African American 477th Bombardment Group
The United States declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941 following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Immediately, the country was thrust into an international war that required the mobilization of American people and resources. Many new military bases and training facilities were founded throughout the country, including Freeman Army Air Field, a pilot training school constructed southwest of Seymour, Indiana. Named after the distinguished Army Air Corps pilot Richard S. Freeman, Freeman Field was activated on December 1, 1942. The impressive facility contained 413 buildings and four 5,500-foot runways.[1]
World War II was not only a time of international conflict; within the United States, domestic tensions grew as the war highlighted the racial inequality African Americans endured. Segregation persisted in the military, forcing African American service men into segregated units, limiting their opportunities for promotions, and barring their entrance to officer’s clubs. [2] Segregation was strictly enforced at Seymour’s Freeman Field under the command of Col. Robert Selway. Freeman Field’s discriminatory treatment of African American airmen gained national attention in 1945, as members of the all-African American 477th Bombardment Group staged a non-violent demonstration to protest the Army Air Corps racist practices. This event, now called The Freedmen Field Mutiny, was instrumental to the fight for the desegregation of the U.S. armed forces. [3]
The 477th Bombardment Group was formed by the Army Air Corps in 1945. First assigned to Selfridge Field, near Detroit, the 477th trained at fields in Michigan, Kentucky, and Indiana. At every base, the African American unit faced discrimination and racism. Upon their arrival at Freeman Field in March 1945, the 400 African American officers that made up the 477th were listed as “trainees,” while their white counterparts were listed as “instructors” to maintain segregated base protocols. Because they were designated as “trainees,” the African American airmen were forbidden from utilizing comfortable Officer’s Club #2 and forced into Officer’s Club #1, a run-down building lacking amenities. [4]
Frustrated by their unequal facilities, the African American airmen decided to stand up for their rights and try to enter Officer’s Club #2. Led by Lt. Coleman Young, a group of African American officers requested permission to enter the all-white club on April 5, 1945. The group was told to leave, and a second group attempted to enter the building a few minutes later. Again, the airmen were denied entry, but this group refused to turn away. Pushing past the on-duty officer, the leader of the group entered Officer’s Club #2, and the rest of the demonstrators followed. The next evening, more than 60 African American officers were arrested for trying to enter the white club. Col. Selway punished the African American unit by instituting Regulation 85-2, which officially segregated housing, dining facilities, and officer’s clubs by race and gave him the right to confine any violators of the order. Despite the fact that the segregation of public facilities on military bases was forbidden by US Army Regulation 210-10, Selman tried to force the African American officers to sign a statement saying that they had read and agreed with Regulation 85-2. [5]
More than 100 of the officers refused to sign the statement. The arrested officers were sent away to Godman Field, where they were guarded by armed men and dogs. As the incident began gaining national attention, the War Department felt pressured to drop the charges against the officers. On April 23, Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall ordered the release of the 101 African American officers. Although free from military prison, each officer involved in the mutiny had letters of reprimand placed in their military files. [6]
In response to the demonstration, Col. Selway was relieved of his duties and replaced at Freeman Field by Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr.[7] By the time the facility was deactivated in 1948, over 4,000 pilots had graduated from training. [8] The U.S. armed forces were officially desegregated by Executive Order 9981, enacted by President Harry S. Truman on July 26, 1948.[9] The reprimands were removed from the military files of the African American officers under President Clinton in 1995. [10] Today, parts of Freeman Army Air Field are preserved as a museum, and Freeman Field Mutiny is marked with a plaque from the Indiana Historical Bureau. [11] The air men’s quest for equal rights was an important turning point in the early years of the Civil Rights Movement that paved the way for non-violent sit-in protests in the following decades and pushed the United States military to desegregate. [12]
[1]“Freeman Field,” Indiana Historical Bureau, accessed June 23, 2020, https://www.in.gov/history/2501.htm.
[2] Nicole Poletika, “‘Blacks Must Wage Two Wars:’ The Freeman Field Uprising & WWII Desegregation,” Indiana History Blog, July 31, 2017, https://blog.history.in.gov/blacks-must-wage-two-wars-the-freeman-field-uprising-wwii-desegregation/.
[3] “The Freeman Field Mutiny,” National Park Service, accessed June 23, 2020, https://www.nps.gov/tuai/learn/historyculture/stories.htm.
[4] “The Freeman Field Mutiny,”
[5] Ibid.
[6] “The Freeman Field Mutiny,”
[7] Ibid.
[8]“Freeman Field.”
[9]Poletika, “Blacks Must Wage Two Wars.”
[10] “The Freeman Field Mutiny.”
[11] “Freeman Field.”
[12]“History,” Freeman Army Airfield Museum, accessed June 23, 2020, http://www.freemanarmyairfieldmuseum.org/about.html.
[13] Poletika, “Blacks Must Wage Two Wars.”
Student Authors: Mary Swartz and Natalie Bradshaw
Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson
Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey
PHOTO & VIDEO:
Freeman Field Mutiny, attributed to Master Sergeant Harold J. Beaulieu, Sr., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Freeman_Field_Mutiny.jpg
<a href="https://www.in.gov/history/markers/366.htm">Indiana Historical Bureau: Historical Marker</a>