Winchester's U.S. Colored Troops - Winchester, Virginia - Civil War Discovery Trail Sites on Waymarking.com

Marker Text:
On April 3, 1864, as part of a recruiting effort in the lower Shenandoah Valley, the 19th United States Colored Troops (USCT) marched into Winchester and stopped here on the old Market House site. A block behind you at her house near the present-day George Washington Hotel, staunch Confederate sympathizer Mary Greenhow was aghast. She wrote in her diary that she felt "inexpressible horror" at the thought of "being where negro troops were garrisoned." Although the regiment only remained in Winchester until day's end and gained no new recruits during its brief visit, nearly 170 African Americans from Winchester did serve in USCT regiments during the war. The 19th USCT, which had been organized in Maryland, continued its march south to join the Army of the Potomac in the Overland Campaign to Richmond and Petersburg, Va.
Edward Hall, an enslaved man, fled Winchester late in 1893 and ventured into Maryland, where he enlisted in the 30th USCT. Hall rose to the rank of sergeant and fought in some of the Civil War's fiercest engagements, including Petersburg;s notorious Battle of the Crater on July 30th, 1864, and assaults against Fort Fisher, N.C. After the war, Hall returned to Winchester, reunited with family, and worked as a gardender and laborer until his death in 1915. He is buried in Winchester's Orrick Cemetery, along with another African American Union veteran, Richard Festus (alias Dickson) who served in the 11th United States Colored Heavy Artillery.

Type of site: Other Military Site Address: 15 North Cameron Street Winchester, Virginia United States of America 22601 Admission Charged: No Charge Website: [Web Link] Phone Number: Not listed Driving Directions: Not listed

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