Library to present program on black Civil War troop formed in W
By Staff Reports
Published in News on February 12, 2017 1:45 AM
Originally planned during the week of Hurricane Matthew, the Goldsboro Library has rescheduled a free program on Thursday, Feb . 23 from 7-8:30 pm with Mr. Earl Ijames, curator from the North Carolina Museum of History.
The program will feature research from documents uncovered by Amy and Jay Bauer at the U.S. National Archives that shed light on the 135th U.S. Colored Troops, formed in Goldsboro in March of 1865. The unit included over 200 men from North Carolina, approximately 30 of whom had ties to Wayne County.
Ijames will share stories of these soldiers from pension records, maps of General Sherman's march, grave markers of regiment members, and other documents.
The project was inspired by a program that Jerilyn Lee presented and encouraged by Wayne County Librarian Marty Tschetter. This is part of ongoing work in which the Bauer's 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 DAR genealogist. Pension records, plus 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. All of this information brings these families to light. The Bauer's, along with Ms. Oman, are still researching and working to find out when and where these soldiers lived after the Civil War and the names of their descendants, which will help tell a more complete story of these gallant soldiers and their lives.
The family of one of the soldiers, Jack Sherrod, knew he had served in this unit before he settled across the county line in Stantonsburg. They will participate in the program, bringing physical items that he used. At this time, Jack is the only soldier of the 135th USCT with an identified photograph, but hopefully other images will surface in the future.
Due to the enormity of the project, a research committee has been formed under the leadership of Amy Bauer, and they meet on the third Thursday of each month in the Local History Room of the Goldsboro library. Members so far include, the Bauers, Margaret Oman, Anne Hurrey, Audreay McKinnie, and Deborah Jones, who is a descendant of one of the unit's soldiers. The committee's goals are to learn about the lives of the soldiers, to connect with their descendants, and to honor the unit with a tangible marker. The surnames of those soldiers with Wayne County ties include Fort, Lewis, Jones and Thompson.