Last Friday the SUV held a memorial ceremony in St. Louis honoring the men of the 56th United States Colored Troops (56th USCT). The 56th USCT was made of Black men, mostly from Arkansas, many of whom had been enslaved. They were freed by the Union Army and then enlisted. After the war they played an important role in Reconstruction in Arkansas, but unfortunately when they were travelling north to be mustered our in 1866 there was a cholera outbreak in St. Louis that killed many of them off.
According to a local news report the regiment suffered many:
deaths due to disease occurred during a cholera epidemic that struck in August 1866 while the regiment was waiting to muster out at Jefferson Barracks Military Post near St. Louis.
Surviving the Civil War battlefields, 175 African-American Infantrymen contracted cholera and died just south of St. Louis. Refused burial at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, they were originally buried in a mass grave near the hospital where they died. In the 1930s, the members of the African-American community spearheaded the re-interment at the national cemetery and the creation of a monument. A plaque with all of the service members’ names was added in 2014.
During the ceremony, Private Benjamin Oglesby was honored with the retelling of his life and service during the war. About a dozen descendants of Oglesby attended the ceremony.
“The ceremony just touches your heart,” said Barbara Crumes Love, the great-great-granddaughter of Oglesby. “I began to cry when I listened to the keynote speaker speak of Benjamin Oglesby, you could just feel what he went through.”
The 175-five African American enlisted men of the 56th U.S. Colored Infantry are now buried together in a mass grave at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in section 57, Lot 15009.
“I think he would be proud to see us standing here and remembering him for the work he did and all of the suffering he went through,” said Roland Oglesby, great-grandson.
The Remembrance ceremony was sponsored by the U.S. Grant Camp No. 68 Sons of Union veterans of the Civil War. For more information on their camp visit www.grantcamp.org.
I was happy to see that this unit is being remembered in the locality where many of its men lie in rest. I wrote about this regiment before. The 56th USCT served in Helena, Arkansas and not only played a role in the war, but during Reconstruction they were instrumental in constructing an orphanage and school that became a college for Black teachers. Their commander, Col. Charles Bentzoni, a German immigrant, had arrived in the United States just a few years before the outbreak of the Civil War. Unlike many native-born white officers who cared little for black soldiers, Bentzoni wanted to help his men, many former slaves, avoid leading “a life of trial and deprivation with no recognition as worthy and substantial members of society.” Bentzoni did what he could to work as a partner with his men and with the Irish-born Freedmen’s Bureau representative Henry Sweeney. The story of these dedicated Black freedom fighters and their immigrant allies is well worth remembering.
Note: The photos of the ceremony are screenshots from St. Louis Channel 5.
Follow Reconstruction Blog on Social Media:
