Program on black Civil War regiment
By From staff reports
Published in News on October 9, 2016 1:45 AM
The Wayne County Public Library will have a free program on the 135th U.S. Colored Troops Oct. 20 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. The unit was formed in Goldsboro in March 1865 and included more than 200 men from North Carolina, about 30 of whom had ties to Wayne County.
Presenting the program will be Earl James, curator with the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh. It centers around documents uncovered by Amy and Jay Bauer at the U.S. National Archives.
James will share stories of these soldiers from their pension records, maps of Gen. Sherman's march, grave markers of regiment members and other documents.
The project was inspired by a program presented by Jerilyn Lee.
The Bauers tracked down documents from the national archives, along with photographs of grave markers and important information compiled from the original muster rolls by Margaret Oman, a genealogist with the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Pension records and family research tell how the men enlisted, their relationships to others in the unit, where they came from and names of their former slave owners.
Participating in the program will be the family of Jack Sherrod, who had served with the unit before settling in Stantonsburg.