Person

Elijah P. Marrs

I said to them we might as well go; that if we staid [stayed] at home we would be murdered; that if we joined the army and were slain in battle, we would at least die in fighting for principle and freedom.

-Elijah P. Marrs, Life and History of the Rev. Elijah P. Marrs, First Pastor of Beargrass Baptist Church, and Author.

Early Life and Civil War

Elijah Preston Marrs was born in January, 1840, in Shelby County, Kentucky, to Andrew and Frances Marrs. Marrs’ father, Andrew, was a freeman. Marrs, alongside his mother, Frances, brother, Henry, and 30 other people, were enslaved by Jesse Robinson. Marrs’ occupation before the war is listed as laborer. On September 26, 1864, Marrs self-emancipated when he traveled to Louisville to enlist in the U.S. Army. Elijah Marrs exuded a natural leadership that drew men to follow him and his actions. His charisma, strength, and bravery led a group of 27 enslaved men to follow him on his march to enlist in the U.S. Army. The journey to Camp Nelson was incredibly dangerous for many enslaved people, as they could be captured by slave hunters or accosted by white citizens. Marrs wrote the following of this event:

I remember the morning I made up my mind to join the United States Army. I started to Simpsonville, and walking along I met many of my old comrades on the Shelbyville Pike. I told them of my determination and asked all who desired to join my company to roll his coat sleeves above his elbows, and to let them remain so during the day. I marshaled my forces that day and night. I had twenty-seven men, all told, and I was elected their captain to lead them to Louisville.

Marrs and his men reached Louisville early in the morning on September 26, 1864, where they enlisted in the U.S. Army. At the age of 23, Elijah Marrs was mustered-into service and assigned to Company L, 12th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery (USCHA). The 12th USCHA was the largest of the eight U.S. Colored Troop (USCT) units organized at Camp Nelson, with 1,418 enlisted men.

Unlike many enslaved people at the time, Marrs acquired the ability to read and write at an early age. With his leadership and literacy, Elijah Marrs was quickly promoted to the rank of Sergeant on October 1, 1864. While the 12th was officially organized at Camp Nelson, the regiment spent most of their time in Western Kentucky and were assigned the task of guarding the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. The 12th garrisoned forts, blockhouses, and bridges at Bowling Green, Munfordville, and Elizabethtown, ensuring that continuous flows of men and supplies to the front. Marrs and his company were involved in engagements with the Confederate Army at Glasgow and Big Springs.

At Big Springs, Co. L was surrounded by Confederate troops, who demanded the immediate surrender of the USCTs. Marrs and the company’s commander, Lieutenant Homer L. Love, originally refused to accept General Williams’s demand of unconditional surrender, preferring to die fighting than to be taken prisoner. However, after learning the true size and might of the Confederate force that surrounded Co. L at the church, Lieutenant Love negotiated terms of surrender. These terms included the immediate parole and safe escort of Co. L to the bulk of their regiment.

On January 8, 1865, General Williams accepted these terms of surrender and took Co. L, including Marrs, as prisoners of war. The next day, General Williams escorted Co. L to Elizabethtown, where they reunited with U.S. troops and were immediately returned to service. This was a remarkably rare incidence of quarter being given to USCT as prisoners. Often, USCT soldiers were not offered any of the protections afforded to white U.S. Army soldiers who were captured as prisoners of war by the Confederate Army. Many captured USCT soldiers were brutally murdered or sold back into slavery in the Confederate states.

After several months of service at Bowling Green, Sergeant Marrs and the 12th USCHA were sent to Camp Nelson for training and resupply. There, Marrs was reunited with his brother, Henry, who had enlisted with the 5th U.S. Colored Cavalry. Henry, like his brother, had become a Sergeant in his own regiment. Following their deployment to Camp Nelson, Marrs and the 12th USCHA were sent back to Bowling Green, where they remained until the fall of 1865, when they were ordered to Columbus, Kentucky. They passed the winter of 1865 in Columbus before moving on to Paducah.

While in Paducah, Marrs applied for and was granted a furlough to return to Shelby county and visit his family. He was joined by Henry, who had recently been mustered out of service with his unit and, together, they made the journey to Shelbyville. Their reunion with their parents and sisters was an incredibly joyous one. While in Shelbyville, however, Elijah Marrs was attacked by a group of white men who sought to threaten the African-American soldier. Despite being outnumbered and without the possession of any weapons, Marrs managed to fight off his attackers and drive them away without experiencing any bodily injury. He spent three more weeks in the company of his family in Shelbyville before returning to service in Paducah.

The 12th USCHA continued to serve with the U.S. Army in Paducah until April, 1866, when orders came for the regiment to march to Louisville. The regiment mustered-out of service on April 24, 1866. Marrs’ friendship and service were celebrated by his friends after the war. He wrote, “My friends on the day of my discharge from the service made me a present of a suit of clothes costing $105, a gift highly appreciated.”

Post-War Life

After the war, Elijah worked closely with Henry to establish a goods transportation business and a farm. In 1866, Marrs began his career as a school teacher in Simpsonville, Kentucky, where he was the city’s first African American teacher. He also worked to establish Simpsonville’s first agricultural and mechanical fair for the town’s black population. In 1871, he married Julia Gray of Shelbyville. Their marriage would last until her death in April, 1876. Elijah Marrs would also go on to teach in the cities of New Castle, LaGrange, and Louisville. In June 1873, Marrs joined the Baptist clergy and was licensed to minister at the New Castle Baptist Church. He was officially ordained as a Baptist clergyman on August 22, 1875.

Reverend Marrs would also become an active politician in each of the cities where he was employed as a teacher and minister. His earliest political work can be seen through his participation in Loyal Leagues, organizations created to protect African-American communities from violence perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan and other white terrorist organizations. He also worked diligently to prevent the passing of state laws that would further discriminate against or promote violence towards African-Americans. He was a delegate to both the first state education convention held in 1868 and the 15th Amendment political convention held in 1869. His delegation to the 15th amendment convention allowed Marrs to advocate for expanding voting rights to black men across the nation. Marrs went on to become the first African-American president of the Republic Club of Oldham County.

Elijah and Henry worked to establish the Kentucky Normal Theological Institute, an organization for the education and promotion of African-Americans in the state. The Institute would eventually become Simmons College, Kentucky’s first Historically Black College and University (HBCU). Reverend Marrs was the college’s first president. Reverend William J. Simmons, the college’s namesake, became the second president of the college after one year. Simmons College still operates today in Louisville, Kentucky. In honor of Elijah, Simmons College created the Elijah P. Marrs Honors College.

In his later career, Marrs joined the State Convention of Colored Men and the National Convention of Colored Men. In 1881, he began a long career as pastor of Beargrass Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, where he would minister until his death. Reverend Elijah P. Marrs died on August 30, 1910, in Louisville, Kentucky. He is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Louisville.