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| Guide to Indiana's Historic Sites Central Edition |
28th Regiment USCT
Location:
Virginia Avenue & McCarty Street, Indianapolis. (Marion County, Indiana)
Installed by:
Installed: 2004 Indiana Historical Bureau, Indiana War Memorials Commission, Andrew & Esther Bowman, and African American Landmarks Committee of Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, Inc.
Marker ID #:
49.2004.5
Marker Text:
Side one:
Indiana's only African-American Civil War regiment served as part of the 28th Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops. African-American infantry was authorized in 1863 to help fill federal quota for soldiers. The Reverend Willis Revels was recruiting officer. Recruits trained at Camp Fremont, established on land near here owned by Calvin Fletcher.
Side two:
In April 1864, six companies were organized and activated. The 28th regiment served valiantly in the Battle of the Crater at Petersburg, Virginia on July 30, 1864, when nearly half of the men were killed or wounded. The 28th returned to Indianapolis January 6, 1866 to a reception in its honor; officers and men were discharged January 9.
Brief History
The United States Department of War authorized the only black troops from Indiana that would serve during the American Civil War on November 30, 1863. Enlistments began on December 3, 1863 and moved to a training camp on the south side of Indianapolis called Camp Fremont. The regiment's commanding officer was Captain Charles S. Russell. The regiment left Indiana on April 24, 1864 for Washington, DC and then to Alexandra, Virginia for additional training.
Combat
On June 21, the 28th engaged in its first battle at White House, Virginia. General Sherman took the unit along on his march through the Chickahominy swamp. During this campaign, the unit suffered heavy casualties. It participated in the sieges of Richmond and Petersburg in Virginia. It lost almost half its soldiers to death and wounding at the Battle of the Crater in Virginia. After reinforcement and enlargement to a full regiment, the unit marched into Richmond, Virginia on Richmond, April 4, 1865. At war's end, the Army deployed the regiment to Brazos, Santiago and Corpus Christi, Texas to deal with unrest there. The regiment mustered out on November 8, 1865. It returned to Indianapolis on January 8, 1866 to a reception held in its honor.
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