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7th USCT Infantry

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Muster In: Organized at Baltimore, Md., September 26 to November 12, 1863.1
Muster Out: Mustered out October 13, 1866, and discharged at Baltimore, Md., November 15, 1866.2

Commander(s):
Colonel James Shaw, Jr.
Commander Image

Lieutenant Colonel Oscar E. Pratt
Commander Image

Captain Julius A. Weiss
Commander Image

Commander 4
Commander Image

First Offensive Order of Battle:

  • Not present at the Siege of Petersburg.3

Second Offensive Order of Battle:

Third Offensive Order of Battle:7

  • Not present at the Siege of Petersburg.6

Fourth Offensive Order of Battle:

Colored Brigade | X Corps | Army of the James | Union Army (August 13-24, 1864)7

First Brigade | Third Division | X Corps | Army of the James | Union Army (August 25-31, 1864)8,9

  • Commander: Captain Julius A. Weiss (August 31, 1864)10
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:
  • Note: Moved to Bermuda Hundred, Va., August 6-11.11

Fifth Offensive Order of Battle: First Brigade | Third Division | X Corps | Army of the James | Union Army12,13,14

  • Commander: Captain Julius A. Weiss (in command of companies C, D, G, K in the assault on Fort Gilmer, September 29, 1864)15
  • Unit Strength: >150 officers and men PFD (cos. C, D, G, K)(September 29, 1864)16
  • Weapons:

Sixth Offensive Order of Battle: First Brigade | Third Division | X Corps | Army of the James | Union Army17,18

  • Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Oscar E. Pratt (October 31, 1864)19
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Seventh Offensive Order of Battle:

First Brigade | Third Division | X Corps | Army of the James | Union Army (November 1-December 3, 1864)20

First Brigade | Second Division | XXV Corps | Army of the James | Union Army (December 3-31, 1864)21

  • Commander: Colonel James Shaw, Jr. (December 31, 1864)22
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:
  • Note: On December 3, 1864, the X Corps and XVIII Corps of the Army of the James were reorganized into the XXIV Corps and the XXV Corps.

Eighth Offensive Order of Battle: First Brigade | Second Division | XXV Corps | Army of the James | Union Army23,24

  • Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Oscar E. Pratt (January 31 & February 28, 1865)25,26
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Ninth Offensive Order of Battle: First Brigade | Second Division | XXV Corps | Army of the James | Union Army27,28

  • Commander: Lieutenant Colonel Oscar E. Pratt (March 31, 1865)29
  • Unit Strength:
  • Weapons:

Dyer’s/Sifakis’ Compendium Info:
Siege of Petersburg Battles30:

  • Moved to Bermuda Hundred, Va., August 6-11.
  • Siege operations against Petersburg and Richmond August, 1864, to April, 1865.
  • Demonstration north of James River August 16-20.
  • Russell’s Mills August 16.
  • Strawberry Plains August 16-18.
  • Battle of Chaffin’s Farm, New Market Heights, September 28-30.
  • Darbytown Road October 13.
  • Battle of Fair Oaks October 27-28.
  • Near Richmond October 28.
  • In trenches before Richmond until March 27, 1865.
  • Appomattox Campaign March 27-April 9.
  • Hatcher’s Run March 29-31.
  • Fall of Petersburg April 2.
  • Pursuit of Lee April 3-9.
  • Appomattox Court House April 9.
  • Surrender of Lee and his army.
  • Moved to Petersburg April 11, and duty there until May 24.

Bibliography:

    Siege of Petersburg Documents Which Mention This Unit:

    Sources:

    1. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3)
    2. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3)
    3. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3)
    4. Volume 14 (Ordnance Returns for the Second Quarter, April-June, 1864); 7th United States Colored Troops Entry, Page 90; Summary Statements of Quarterly Returns of Ordnance and Ordnance Stores on Hand in Regular and Volunteer Army Organizations, 1862-1867, 1870-1876. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1281, Roll 7); Records of the Office of the Chief of Ordnance, 1797-1969, Record Group 156; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.
    5. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3)
    6. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3)
    7. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 1 (Serial Number 87), page 120: “Return of Casualties in the Union Forces (August 1864)”: This brigade became the First Brigade of Birney’s Third (Colored) Division, Tenth Corps at some point in late August 1864, after Second Deep Bottom.
    8. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 2 (Serial Number 88), page 620: “Organization of the Army of the Potomac…August 31, 1864”
    9.  The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 1 (Serial Number 87), page 109: “Itinerary of the Army of the Potomac and Army of the James”: “August 25.-Brigadier General William Birney assumed command of the Third Division, Tenth Army Corps…”
    10. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 2 (Serial Number 88), page 620: “Organization of the Army of the Potomac…August 31, 1864”
    11. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3)
    12. Sommers, Richard J. “Grant’s Fifth Offensive at Petersburg: A Study in Strategy, Tactics, and Generalship.  The Battle of Poplar Spring Church, the First Battle of the Darbytown Road, the Second Battle of the Squirrel Level Road, the Second Battle of the Darbytown Road (Ulysses S. Grant, Virginia).” Doctoral Thesis. Rice University, 1970. Print. p. 1303.
    13. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 1 (Serial Number 87), page 134: “Return of Casualties in the Union Forces (September-October 1864)”: The Official Records casualty returns for Chaffin’s Farm still refer to this brigade as the unattached “Colored Brigade”, Tenth Corps, Army of the James.
    14. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 1 (Serial Number 87), page 147: “Return of Casualties in the Union Forces (September-October 1864)”
    15. Sherman, George R. “The Negro as a Soldier.” Personal Narratives of Events in the War of the Rebellion, Being Papers Read Before the Rhode Island Soldiers and Sailors Historical Society, Vol. 7, No. 7, pp. 1-34
    16. Sherman, George R. “The Negro as a Soldier.” Personal Narratives of Events in the War of the Rebellion, Being Papers Read Before the Rhode Island Soldiers and Sailors Historical Society, Vol. 7, No. 7, pp. 1-34: “Of the 150 enlisted men who started, 51, or over 32 per cent, were killed or mortally wounded; a loss exceeding that of any other command in a single engagement, during the entire war.”
    17. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 3 (Serial Number 89), page 465: “Organization of the Union Forces” (October 31, 1864)”
    18. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 1 (Serial Number 87), page 149: “Return of Casualties in the Union Forces…Fair Oaks and Darbytown Road, Va., October 27-28, 1864”
    19. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 3 (Serial Number 89), page 465: “Organization of the Union Forces” (October 31, 1864)”
    20. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3)
    21. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 3 (Serial Number 89), page 1126: “Organization of the Union Forces” (December 31, 1864)
    22. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLII, Part 3 (Serial Number 89), page 1126: “Organization of the Union Forces” (December 31, 1864)
    23. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 337: “Organization of the Union Forces” (January 31, 1865)
    24. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 750: “Organization of the Union Forces” (February 28, 1865)
    25. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 337: “Organization of the Union Forces” (January 31, 1865)
    26. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 2 (Serial Number 96), page 750: “Organization of the Union Forces” (February 28, 1865)
    27. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 1 (Serial Number 95), page 580: “Organization of the Union Forces” (March 31, 1865)
    28. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 1 (Serial Number 95), page 596: “Return of casualties in the Union Forces commanded by Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, March 29-April 9, 1865”
    29. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Volume XLVI, Part 1 (Serial Number 95), page 580: “Organization of the Union Forces” (March 31, 1865)
    30. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer (Part 3)
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