Civil War Soldiers: Discovering the Men of the 25th United States Colored Troops

“Civil War Soldiers: Discovering the Men of the 25th United States Colored Troops” began as an exhibit of portraits and biographies of actual African-American men who served in the 25th USCT, Company G, during the Civil War. The show rated in the “Top 25” of over 1500 entries at ArtPrize 2013, an international art competition held annually in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Now the collection of 17 full color drawings, photos, updated biographies, an introduction with background details, color maps, and selected military records, appears in book form in this volume. The drawings are based on photos from a tiny, rare album, owned by the Captain of the men, William A. Prickitt, and physical descriptions from each man’s Civil War military records. The men in the photos were identified with a hand-written name on the mat around their photo. The reason only 17 men of a much larger company were photographed is still a mystery. In addition to creating the portraits, the author did careful genealogical research on each man and wrote a short biography of him, including fascinating details about his life before and after the war. The backgrounds of the men varied quite a bit. Some of the men were free before the war and some of them were enslaved at the time of their enlistment. Some may have been escaped slaves who signed up to fight for the Union. 1863 was the first time in American history that African-American men were allowed to serve in the U. S. Army. “Civil War Soldiers: Discovering the Men of the 25th United States Colored Troops” highlights 17 men who answered the call to serve their country at that pivotal moment.