Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate army on April 9, 1865. In April and May of 1865 the remaining Confederate forces surrendered to Union armies. During these months Union troops marched relatively freely through much of the South. In places where a year earlier a commander would never think of sending a unit smaller than a division, now single regiments might be sent on their own in the expectation that they would not encounter more than isolated resistance.
This brief account from The Augusta Daily Constitutionalist records the first arrival of Black troops in the small Georgia city.
Daily Constitutionalist
Friday, Jun 16, 1865
Augusta, GA
Vol: XXII
Issue: 256
Page: 1
Source: Post-Civil War Violence in Augusta, Georgia by Russell K. Brown The Georgia Historical Quarterly Vol. 90, No. 2 (SUMMER 2006), pp. 197.
For more information on the feature photo
Is the Drummer in photo a soldier female?
Interesting question. The drummer is John Johnson of the 27th USCT. I too thought that the drummer had what are traditionally thought of as female characteristics. Here is the source for the name of the musician.