25th United States Colored Troops: 1864 Muster Roll

The original muster roll is preserved in the national seashore's museum collection.

NPS/Breault

During the Civil War, several regiments of the USCT served within the park boundaries. We have few details of the men who served at the forts in our museum collection. But one object in the collection, a muster roll from 1864, has valuable information: names!

Muster rolls record the presence or absence of soldiers during their time in service. This muster roll from June 30 to August 31, 1864, lists Company G from the 25th United States Colored Troops (USCT). During this time, the company served at Fort Barrancas. Captain William A. Prickett led the company. The company also had three white officers: William H. Powers, John E. Norcross, and Lewis Willis. Next, are African American soldiers. The sergeants: Stephen Johnson, Hiram White, Isaiah White, and Samuel Martin. Then, there are the corporals, including Simon O’Banyoun, William Hill, George Washington, John St. Clair, John Andrew, Solomon Frister, John Quako, and Isaac Warfield. A musician, Christopher Wilson, follows the corporals. Finally, the 60 privates appear in order by last name beginning with William H. Anderson. But who were these men?

Captain Prickett had the photographs of 17 of the men taken and kept in a locket-sized photo album. The 17 men include Stephen Johnson, Hiram White, Isaiah White, Solomon Frister, George Washington, Prince Short, Christopher A. Wilson, John Walls, John H. Spurrier, George H. Mitchell, Theodore Tennant, James Henry Hovington, James Tall, Bayard Sorden, William H. Morris, George Watson, and an unidentified soldier.

The stories of these 17 men, as well as the others, reveal the struggles of the African American soldiers. But they also prove the perseverance of these men. Several of the men including Private Major Robinson joined the Union Army as an enslaved man. Through genealogical research, it is possible to follow these men into their freedom. Major Robinson survived the Civil War and kept the freedom he gained upon his enlistment. He returned to the place of his enslavement, Sussex County, Delaware. Here, he started a family and worked as a charcoal burner.

Museum objects allow museum professionals to tell the stories of past peoples. The muster roll can ignite our curiosity with the insights it holds.