CLHS program will cover black soldiers in Civil War

The County Line Historical Society of Wayne/Holmes announced its April 20 community event, Black Men in Blue: The Civil War, Ohioans and the U.S. Colored Troops. This event is free and open to the public and will be held at 1 p.m. at the historic Shreve Presbyterian Church, 343 N. Market St., Shreve. Parking is available across North Market Street from the church.

The presentation will focus on the Ohio black community’s response to the national conflict, the wartime participation of free black men and the impact of their service on white Ohioans. Special attention is given to the 5th and 27th USCT.

The guest speaker is Kelly D. Mezurek, a professor of history at Walsh University. She is a historian, writer and speaker who researches black Civil War soldiers, sailors and veterans. Her book, “For Their Own Cause: The 27th United States Colored Troops,’’ is a 2017 Ohioana Book Award finalist in nonfiction.

Mezurek also has published “The Colored Veteran Soldiers Should Receive the Same Tender Care: Black Veterans, Soldiers’ Homes and the Post-Civil War Midwest” and “De Bottom Rails on Top Now; Black Prisons Reconsidered.” Mezurek is a past executive board member of the Ohio Academy of History and was a representative on the Ohio Civil War 150 Advisory Committee.

The 5th United States Colored Infantry Regiment was an African American regiment of the Union Army. The regiment saw action in Virginia as part of the Richmond-Petersburg campaign and in North Carolina, where it participated in the attacks on Fort Fisher and Wilmington and the Carolinas campaign.

The 27th United States Colored Troops, composed largely of free black Ohio men, served in the Union Army from April 1864 to September 1865 in Virginia and North Carolina. It was the first time most members of the unit had traveled so far from home. The men faced daily battles against racism and against inferior treatment, training and supplies.

Their service did not end when their enlistment was over. After the men of the 27th returned to Ohio, they and their families sought full access to the 14th and 15th Amendments and compensatory citizenship rights for their collective sacrifice. Despite their constant battle against racism, this public behavior benefited the men and their families.

The program is made possible in part by Ohio Humanities, a state affiliate of The National Endowment for the Humanities.