Presentation on U.S. Colored Troops in the Civil War to be presented on Lincoln’s birthday
On February 12th, the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, Petersburg resident and Civil War enthusiast Ben Greenbaum will offer a free presentation on the U.S. Colored Troops and their role in the Civil War. The program will take place at 7 p.m. at Union Station at 103 River Street in Petersburg. It is sponsored […]
On February 12th, the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, Petersburg resident and Civil War enthusiast Ben Greenbaum will offer a free presentation on the U.S. Colored Troops and their role in the Civil War. The program will take place at 7 p.m. at Union Station at 103 River Street in Petersburg. It is sponsored by the Historic Petersburg Foundation, Inc. (HPF) and the City of Petersburg’s Department of Tourism.
For the first two years of the Civil War, the Union government and President Lincoln were determined to show that the War was primarily not about slavery, but about preserving the Union. Lincoln and the U.S. Congress took great pains to try to assuage the South and the slave holding border states, but by the end of the summer of 1862, casualties were mounting and support for the war was diminishing. On September 22, 1862, five days after the bloody Battle of Antietam, the President issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. This effectively transformed the War in the North from one fought solely to restore the Union, to one also fought to free the slaves.
In May 1863, the War Department established a bureau to oversee the enlistment of colored troops. By the end of the Civil War, over 175,000 African American soldiers had enlisted in the United States Colored Troops. In addition, some 15,000 African Americans served in the U.S. Navy during the war.
Greenbaum currently serves as a board member of HPF, Battersea, Inc. and the Petersburg Museums. He is also president of the Central Virginia Civil War Collectors Association and a past board member of the Douglas Southall Freeman Branch of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. Since 1981, Greenbaum has also taught science at Richmond’s Collegiate School.
HPF is a non-profit organization dedicated to leading the preservation and restoration of Petersburg’s historic architecture and neighborhoods and to tell their story.
For more information on the presentation, call HPF at (804) 732-2096 or the Petersburg Visitor Center at (804) 733-2400.
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