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In the early 1864, Union General Stephen
G. Burbridge, commander of the Military District of Kentucky, authorized
the formation of "colored" units compromised of freedmen, enslaves, and
slaves within his command. On June 30, 1864, Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas,
responsible for organizing colored regiments in the Mississippi Valley
for the Union Army, authorized the officers of the newly formed 5th United
States Colored Calvary (5th USCC) to begin selecting recruits. Colonel
James Briban, a well known abolitionist, became commander of the regiment.
Some of the companies were recruited at Camp Nelson, Kentucky, while others
were insisted in nearby towns, including Lebanon and Louisville. Nearly
all of the recruits were former slaves, the majority of whom volunteered
for three years of service. In accordance with Thomas' policy, all of the
officers of the 5th USCC were white.
Although over six hundred members of the unit engaged in actions under General Burbridge's command in Southwest Virginia in September and early October of 1864, the regiment was not officially organized until October 24, 1864 at Camp Nelson. The regiment was attached to the 1st Division, Distinct of Kentucky, Dept. of Ohio until Feb., 1865. The regiment subsequently served under the Military District of Kentucky and the Dept. of Arkansas. While stationed in Arkansas after the war, the regiment reportedly hunted down and rebel renegades. The unit was mustered out in Helena, Arkansas on March 20, 1866. White officers that led the 5thUSCC were subsequently assigned to the 10th Calvary, one of two Calvary regiments comprised of men of African decent that served in the western frontier and became known as the Buffalo Soldiers. |
