by Shannon Butler
If you are interested in the American Civil War, like me, perhaps you have seen the 1989 film Glory, starring Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, and Matthew Broderick. The film takes a close look at the famous 54th Massachusetts Regiment; the first regiment of African American soldiers to fight in the Civil War. The regiment took heavy casualties as it tried and failed to take the confederate stronghold of Fort Wagner, just outside of Charleston, South Carolina, in July of 1863. Even if you’re not a history nerd you should check out the movie just for the terrific acting (Denzel Washington won his first Oscar for this role). Did you know that a few men from Poughkeepsie joined the 54th, and that some even saw action at the Battle of Fort Wagner? Sadly, some of these men paid a high price in the fight for freedom.
When President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in January of 1863, there was a sudden rush of African American volunteers who were finally able to join the fight. John Gray was born around 1841 and grew up in Poughkeepsie, where he worked on a farm until the Civil War broke out. Both he and his father, Thomas, decided to enlist in the spring of 1863; John was 22, Thomas was 50. Originally, they both joined the 20th U.S.C.T. Regiment, enlisting here in Poughkeepsie, but John soon found himself a member of the 54th Massachusetts, where he ended up being captured during the battle of Fort Wagner. Most of the men who were captured during that battle were sent to the old Charleston Jail to sit out the remainder of the war. Sadly, it is believed that John died in that jail from sickness in 1865. He was probably unaware that his father had died before him, in September of 1864, while serving in New Orleans.
Jefferson Ellis had worked as a boatman before he signed up to fight on April 4, 1863. He was only 19 years old when he joined. Records show that he was lucky to survive the war, as he was captured during the battle of Fort Wagner, just like John Gray. However, Ellis ended up being part of a prisoner exchange on March 4, 1865, and was able to return to the 54th, where he finished out his service as a corporal and was discharged in August of 1865. The same cannot be said for another 19-year-old from Poughkeepsie, who also signed up at the same time. Daniel Kelley was killed in action at Fort Wagner after having only been in the army for three months.
James Edward Kelley was also 19 when he joined the 54th, and was wounded in Jacksonville, Florida, on February 7, 1864. His record states that he deserted somewhere around March of 1865. It is unclear if he ever made it back home, as he appears on the census record for June of 1865 in Poughkeepsie, but there is a check under the line “Now in Army.” Not surprisingly, all of the young men in their twenties in that household, all of which were African American, were all serving their country at that time.
References:
Ancestry.com – Census records, New York, U.S., Registers of Officers and Enlisted Men Mustered into Federal Service, 1861-1865, New York, U.S., Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts, 1861-1900
NPS.gov – 54th Regiment Articles
https://www.masshist.org/features/54thregiment
Image:
54th Monument – Photo of the monument for the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, in Boston. Designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens.