1st Mississippi Infantry [African Descent]

African American Monument to the 1st and 3rd Mississippi Infantry of African Descent located on Grant Ave in the park.

NPS

Organized, in May 1863, comprised of formerly enslaved men from Milliken’s Bend, Louisiana and Vicksburg, Mississippi plantations and urban slavery sites. They were chiefly assigned garrison duties and stationed at Milliken’s Bend, Vicksburg, and later Goodrich Landing. Approximately one-third of the men who enrolled, in early 1863, were born in the upper south and experienced the cruelties of the Second Middle Passage, also known as the domestic slave trade. The 1^st MS Inf. (A.D.) was one of five units organized in Louisiana and Mississippi who fought at the Battle of Milliken’s Bend. This was the second time African American soldiers engaged with Confederate forces during the Civil War. The brave actions of the Black soldiers at Milliken’s Bend challenged the racial stereotypes and demonstrated their commitment to fight for “Freedom.” In December 1863, U.S. Secretary of War, Edward Stanton proclaimed, “The slave has proved his manhood, and his capacity as an infantry soldier, at Milliken's Bend, at the assault upon Port Hudson, and the storming of Fort Wagner."

Engagements:

• Milliken’s Bend - June 7, 1863: 101 KIA, 285 wounded, and 266 captured or missing.

• Massacre at Ross Landing - February 14, 1864: Co. G, 13 KIA, 7 wounded (5 mortally), 0 captured.

Unit designation changed to 51^st USCI on March 11,1864.

 

United States African Brigade Tablet located a Grant's Canal.

NPS Photo

This unit was attached to Colonels Isaac F. Shepard's (under arrest at the time of the battle of Milliken's Bend), Hermann Lieb's (wounded 7 June 1863), and Lt. Colonel Charles J. Paine's African Brigade, District of Northeast Louisiana, under Brigadier Generals Jeremiah C. Sullivan (relieved 3 June 1863) and Elias S. Dennis, and commanded by Lt. Colonel A. Watson Weber. [Refer to Shepard of Missouri and Dennis of Illinois.]

 

African American Experience in Vicksburg

Explore more concerning the African American experience in Vicksburg before, during, and after the Civil War.