American Lawmen and Soldiers of Color


Deputy Marshals in Indian Territory: Identified as (left to right) Amos Maytubby (Choctaw light-horseman) and African-American deputy marshals Zek Miller, Neely Factor, Bob L. Fortune. Image one, black and white with no text is from the Denver Public Library Special Collections. Date for photo is given as 1880-1910. 
 
 
Image 2 with tape and handwriting is from the Oklahoma Historical Society Archives, Jimmy Stewart Collection.


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  Unidentified Union Soldier, Benton Barracks, Saint Louis, Missouri (1863-65)
 
 
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Portraits of 15 soldiers and sailors who received Medals of Honor for service in the American Civil War, American Indian Wars, and Spanish American War. All 15 men are African-American. The man in the top-most middle photograph is Milton Holland, shown also below. The names of the men are:

Sergeant John Denny, Co. B, 9th U.S. Cavalry Regiment (second row, first photo);
Private James Gardiner, Co. I, 36th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment;
Sergeant Major Milton M. Holland, Co. C, 5th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment (top row, 2nd photo);
Private Dennis Bell, Troop H, 10th U.S. Cavalry Regiment;
Sergeant Brent Woods, Co. B, 9th U.S. Cavalry Regiment (second row, fourth photo);
Sergeant Thomas Hawkins, Co. C, 6th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment;
Corporal Isaiah Mays, Co. B, 24th U.S. Infantry Regiment (second row, second photo);
Sergeant Robert A. Pinn, Co. I, 5th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment;
Landsman John Lawson, U.S. Navy;
Sergeant William H. Carney, Co. C, 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment;
Sergeant Powhatan Beaty, Co. G, 5th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment;
Sergeant James H. Harris, Co. B, 38th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment;
Sergeant Thomas Shaw, Co. K, 9th U.S. Cavalry Regiment (bottom row, first photo);
Sergeant Alexander Kelly, Co. F, 6th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment;
and Sergeant Major Christian Fleetwood, Co. G, 4th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment (fourth row, fourth photo).

Image was from the collection of W.E.B. Du Bois.
 



Milton M. Holland, Sergeant Major, 5th U.S. Colored Troops, Civil War
Milton, also shown in the group photo above, was a fair-skinned African American, born a slave in 1844. His father is believed to be Bird Holland, the white slave owner who freed him and his brothers and sent them away to school. He received the medal of honor for his heroic and courageous actions at Chaffin's Farm that led to a victory for the union army. He was promoted to Captain by General Butler, but the War Department denied his commission because he was a black man. 
Read two profound letters written by Milton M. Holland and posted by the National Parks Service:
National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, retrieved February 16, 2019 from https://www.nps.gov/rich/learn/historyculture/holland.htm.
 


Photo of young Milton M. Holland, from his friend Christian A. Fleetwood's papers (larger image not available). Christian A. Fleetwood is Sergeant Major Fleetwood, also shown in the group photo above and shown below.
 


 
Sergeant Major Christian Fleetwood, Co. G, 4th U.S. Colored Troops Infantry Regiment 
 
 
 
Sarah, wife of Christian Fleetwood (larger photo not available).
 


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Citations


Photo 1: Du Bois, W. E. B. (ca. 1900). Medal of honor men Have received medals of honor in United States Army and Navy. United States Paris France, ca. 1900. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2001695575.

Photo 2: Milton M. Holland. Retrieved from Library of Congress, is in the public domain.

Photo 3: Milton M. Holland. Christian A. Fleetwood, his friend Milton M. Holland, head and shoulders, facing right, in uniform. Retrieved January 30, 2021 from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2006684595.

Photo 4: Du Bois, W. E. B. (ca. 1900) Christian Fleetwood, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing slightly left. , ca. 1900. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/97506113.

Photo 5: Sarah Fleetwood. Christian A. Fleetwood, his wife Sarah Fleetwood, oval bust, facing left. [No Date Recorded on Caption Card] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2006684594.



 
 

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