The organization meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month September through May. Meetings are held in the Williamsburg Regional Library Theatre located at 515 Scotland St in Williamsburg, VA, unless otherwise posted. The meetings begin at 6:30 PM. Membership is open to the general public.
April's Speaker
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
April 22, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Edward W. Gantt
Captain, U. S. Navy (Retired)
“The Evolution of the U. S. Colored Troops”
Join us on Tuesday, April 22nd, for the meeting of the Williamsburg
Civil War Roundtable, commencing at 6:30 PM in the Williamsburg Regional
Library Theatre. The library is located at 515 Scotland Street in
Williamsburg.
The program will also be presented online via a Zoom link for our
members and friends near and far. The details for the Zoom link will be
provided in a follow-up announcement several days prior to the meeting
date.
The 1989 Hollywood movie, “Glory,” drew the nation’s attention to the
54th Massachusetts Voluntary Infantry, the African American Civil War
unit that fought for the United States Army from 1863 until just after
the war’s end. For so many Americans, there was little knowledge of the
nearly 200,000 African American soldiers who fought during the Civil
War. Perhaps before the movie’s release, and in some sectors, there was
no knowledge of the African Americans who served in the Federal Army
during the Civil War.
Ed’s
presentation will discuss some significant events in American history
that led to the creation of the United States Colored Troops. They were
officially named USCT units and served throughout the various theaters
of the war. Their entry into the Federal Army provided a significant
source of manpower, many of whom were more than willing to take up arms
to secure their freedom from the institution of slavery. By late 1864,
the USCT made up ten percent of the Federal Army. After the war’s end,
some of the USCT units continued to serve in the U. S. Army and would
become known as “Buffalo Soldiers.”
In the spring of 2014, Ed commenced an association with the 23rd
Infantry Regiment U. S. Colored Troops (USCT) comprised of Civil War
re-enactors and living historians. Captain Gantt currently maintains
memberships with the 23rd USCT in Spotsylvania VA, and the 54th
Massachusetts Civil War re-enactors organization in the Washington DC
area. (For Ed Gantt's biography click
here)