Chapter 3

Official Records

Once you have located each generation of your family in the federal population census, you will need to explore local and state government records pertaining to your family. As I mentioned in chapter one, a very good explanation of the federal census can be located in Black Genesis by James M. Rose and Alice Eichholz.[5] Listed at the end of this chapter are references to guides that will be helpful for researching in federal records. The second section of this book will cover the local records that will be helpful to research African Americans in the state’s sixty-seven counties. Therefore, this chapter explores some of the unique records created by Alabama state government that have an impact on researching African Americans in Alabama. I am highlighting the records that are under-used in most archives because they are not readily perceived as having information in them for researching family history. To the contrary, these records are full of information pertaining to African Americans.

The record groups that I will discuss in this chapter are similar to any state’s government records and are not unique to Alabama. The titles may be different, but the information collected will be the same. For example, in Mississippi there are records called, “Educable children” whereas other states call the same data a “school census.” In Alabama school censuses were the responsibility of the Alabama Superintendent of Education. According to the expanded duties section of the State Superintendent as outlined in the 1919 Acts of Alabama, a census was to be taken in July of the even numbered years of all children between the ages of six and twenty-one. Some of these census records can be located at the county school boards in their respective counties and a few are at the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH). Names of the children, parents or guardians, date of birth, age, and race were enumerated for each child.

 

 

Sample school census record, 1940.

 

ADAH maintains primary and secondary material useful for genealogical research specifically related to African Americans in Alabama. Some counties also have local archives or historical societies, and these county archives hold unique material pertaining to the county in which they are located. Do not neglect to visit local libraries because the trend has been in the last decade to upgrade the genealogical collections. For this book’s purposes, I have selected examples of records that the ADAH has in its collection that are useful to African Americans researching Alabama ancestors, and I will discuss them briefly in this chapter. They are: the Session Laws from 1819 to 1849 (the title changed to the Acts of Alabama in1850); the 1866 Alabama State Census; Membership and Licensure Files; Oath of Allegiance/Loyalty Oaths, 1867–1868; 1867 Voter Registration; Convict Records; the Governors’ Papers; Military Records; and Church Records. The miscellaneous items mentioned at the end of this chapter are records that are not routinely used by researchers in seeking their family history. They are unique and warrant some attention.

Session Laws/Acts of Alabama

The Acts of Alabama are Alabama laws passed by the Alabama House and Senate during regular or special session. These laws were known as Session Laws from 1819–1849 and from 1850 to present they are known as the Acts of Alabama. How would you use the Acts? First determine where or how your ancestors might have impacted with Alabama state government, and if the house or the senate would likely have addressed the situation relating to your ancestor. For examples some of the information found in the Acts are:

a. Name changes.

b. Divorces. Before a divorce was granted, the persons seeking the divorce had to petition the Alabama General Assembly (1819–1864).

c. Freeing of slaves by owners from 1824–1848. Indexed in the laws under the subjects: slaves, manumissions, or emancipations. The senate and house journals should be consulted to look for those manumissions that were not granted. They were not recorded in the Acts.

d. Incorporation of town, schools, companies, roads, railroads, and clubs. The listing for The Can’t Get Away Club of Mobile, 1854, for example, lists the names of the officers and board members.

e. “Relief.” Reliefs are private Acts usually for the benefit of one person or a group of people.

f. Records of remarriages, establishing of citizenship, giving a doctor the right to practice medicine or a lawyer the right to practice law, or payment of county officials, or acknowledging Indian ancestry are among the many treasures that can be found in Alabama’s earlier laws.

1866 State Census

Few sources match census records for specific information on a family and for some useful clues that links those facts, until proven otherwise, to other resources. Although the 1890 federal census was lost to fire in 1921, these lost records may be substituted by using tax rolls or state censuses. In addition to the federal census taken every ten years, the State of Alabama took censuses in 1850 (not indexed), 1855 (14 counties) and 1866 (not indexed). The Alabama Constitution of 1865 required the taking of a census of the inhabitants of the State in 1866. All heads of households were counted. The census taker had to account for household members, how many were lost in service during the war, died of sickness or were killed in battle or were disabled by wounds. The census taker had to classify the whole population into two classes: black and white (the black included all persons of color). Each class was then subdivided into male and female, according to age, so that the enumeration showed how many of each class were under ten, how many between ten and twenty, between twenty and thirty, and so forth. The Alabama 1866 Census is significant for African Americans in Alabama and may be the only place African Americans can be found if death occurred before the next census in 1870. As with all census records, federal, state, or city, they are just one piece of the family puzzle, needing collaboration before the whole puzzle can fit together.

Membership and Licensure Files

Our ancestors joined societies, churches, organizations, and applied for licenses not unlike we do today. The first step in joining any organization is the application process. Imagine the kinds of information found on a membership application! However, the trick is to find the records. Not all of the records can be located in controlled environments such as an archives building. Some of these records may reside with the organization or members of the organization. For example, the ADAH collection includes the medical licensure applications, the state bar association files, the 1911–1919 chauffeurs’ register files, and the pistol license applications from 1943–1946.

County courthouses are another place to locate unusual information on family members. I found an ancestor on a 1921 Elmore County dog registration list along with a description of the dog. My ancestor was not lucky enough to have his own description recorded.

Oath of Allegiance/Loyalty Oaths–1867–1868

In July of 1865, Alabama Provisional Governor Lewis E. Parsons published thirteen points that should be addressed when applying for pardons. The seventh and the tenth were significant ones that referred to loyalty to the union. The seventh asked the question, “Were you in favor of the so-called ordinance of secession at the time it was passed on the 11th day of January, 1861?” The tenth asked, “will you be a peaceable and loyal citizen in the future?” Those who applied for and were granted pardons were asked to swear an oath of allegiance/loyalty oath to the United States.

1867 Voter Registration

All black and white males who swore a loyalty oath to the Federal Government were required to register in order to vote. In Alabama registers were kept for each county and space allotted for the person’s name, race, length of residence in the state, county and precinct, the book and page where the oath is located, naturalization information and reason for rejections. The voter registration registers were created from the loyalty oaths. You will be able to find your ancestor’s signature or his mark. Besides the naturalization information on foreign-born persons, most of the registers lack any major genealogical information. Mobile and Tuscaloosa counties are rich in naturalization information. Dale County’s register gives the name of employers for some of the registrants. The books for Henry, Lee, Perry, and Russell counties indicate the place of birth for some voters. Some Walker county returns give exact dates of births and state and county of birth for each voter. Eligibility to vote in the 1867 election was one of the requirements for voting under the 1901 Alabama State Constitution. Although many African Americans were eligible to vote it is doubtful if they voted in 1901 given the political and racial climate at the time.

When looking for loyalty oaths for your ancestors, you will need to look for records in the state archives as well as records at the National Archives. Alabama’s 1867 voter registration records are being digitized by the ADAH and are located on the ADAH’s web site in the section on “databases” (www.archives.alabama.gov). Wilcox County’s were the first to be placed online. As the digitization project progresses, all counties with undamaged 1867 voter registration records will be online in the database for researchers to view.

Convict Records

You might be thinking—Who me? I did not have any of “those” in my family—and you might not, but I always tell researchers when they tell me of an ancestor that has disappeared and can’t be found anywhere, check the convict records just for fun! In the ADAH collection for the earlier convict records (ca. 1800–ca. 1910) separate annual reports exist for state and county convicts. The annual report for state convicts on hand at the close of a particular fiscal year will have the name, race, county, crime, date of conviction, sentence years, age years, and former occupation. Most of the counties operated on the convict lease system. The county report, “County convicts at hard labor” on the first day of a particular month will have the name, sex, race, crime, date of conviction, sentence-years-month-days, amount of cost-dollars-cents, sentence for cost-years-months-days, and contractors. African Americans were in great numbers in prisons in Alabama during this period. When the convict lease system was terminated in 1927, Alabama prison official removed convicts from coal mines, lumber companies, and private farms and assigned them to various roads camps where they worked to construct roads and highways throughout the state. There are annual reports of death among county convicts for a particular dates which will have the name, county, place of death, date of death, and cause of death. Consumption and powder explosions were among the causes of many of the deaths during this period because of the prisoners working in the state’s coal mines.

In the Convict Pardon Docket, 1887–1896, the governor recorded his exercise of the power to pardon and parole convicts as granted by the Alabama constitution of 1875. Information contained includes name of the criminal, county, crime, conviction date, sentence, related newspaper clippings, date of parole or pardon, and any comments or recommendations of the governor. Only one volume exists for this information.

The administrative correspondence 1909–1947 file is organized by inmate’s surname arranged loosely alphabetically by road camp, alphabetically by name of camp, there under chronologically by prison. The administrative correspondence consists of communications of the directors with the head of the state prisons and road camps, with prison physicians and other personnel and with inmates and their families. Also included are death and escape notices and some newspapers clippings.

Your ancestor may not been in the prison system, or on a road gang, but because of the adverse laws affecting African Americans during the 1800s and 1900s it is likely that your ancestors may have had relatives in the system. Do not overlook these records, if you are lucky enough to find a connection in the records you will come away with some detailed information.

Governors’ Papers

ADAH has papers from the governors’ office from 1819, the beginning of statehood, to the present. According to Alabama state law, all past governors’ papers are required to be stored at the state archives. The governor’s papers were not intended for genealogical purposes, but they have a wealth of information concerning the citizens of Alabama. Alabama citizens wrote letters to the governor about their affairs and asked for pardons for their loved ones, just to name some of the information that may be located in the papers. These files are worth researching during the time period that your ancestors lived in Alabama.

Military Records

African American genealogical study can be aided through records from the American Revolution (1775–1783), the Civil War (1861–1865), the Spanish-American War (1898–1899), World War I (1917–1918), World War II (1941–1945), the Korean Conflict (1950–1953), the Vietnam War (1961–1973), and the Persian Gulf Conflict (1990–1991). These campaigns had an impact on all aspects of African American life and culture.

 

 

Example of United States Army Honorable Discharge papers, 1920, located on microfilm in county records. See Appendix A for a list of additional discharge papers by county.

 

 

Example of handwritten military records, 1918, located on microfilm in county records. See Appendix A for a list of additional discharge papers by county.

 

It has been estimated that more than 65,000 Southern blacks were in the Confederate ranks, and about 10,000 African Americans from Alabama served in the federal military during the Civil War. Specific Alabama units included the: 1st Alabama Siege Artillery (6th/7th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery); 1st Alabama Regiment Infantry (55th U.S. Colored Troops); 2nd Alabama Regiment Infantry (110th U.S. Colored Troops); 3rd Alabama Regiment Infantry (111th U.S. Colored Troops); and the 4th Alabama Regiment Infantry (106th U.S. Colored Troops). The Broadfoot Company has published an index to the compiled service records of the soldiers at the National Archives of the African American soldiers. See, Janet B. Hewett, ed., The Roster of Union Soldiers, 1861–1865: U. S. Colored Troops in the Civil War. 2 vols. (Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot, 1997).

The ADAH’s Public Information Subject File on Civil War and Reconstruction, compiled by the ADAH staff, consists of topical information about the Civil War generally and Alabamians’ participation specifically. Narrative accounts of campaigns, biographies of general officers, and notable personalities, and information on a wide variety of topics including African American, women, regimental flags, prisoners of war, etc., are arranged alphabetically by topic. A container listing is available in the repository and online. This is a good place for doing some background reading for this period that is not covered in published materials.

In the ADAH’s Public Information Subject File/Alabamians-at War, Spanish-American War, 1898, a newspaper clipping headline for the Montgomery Advertiser reads, “Alabama Troops In the Spanish-American War.” The article states that it “is not generally known that Alabama furnished about three thousand white volunteers to the Spanish American War. Besides about 1,000 colored troops.” Records of service from the Spanish-American War can be found at the National Archives. The ADAH also has a small microfilm collection of abstracted information on soldiers who resided in Alabama; this information was collected by the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

World War I records at ADAH include the registration files and service records for Alabama soldiers on microfilm. These files are particularly valuable for African Americans seeking information on their family members. One of the early ADAH directors, Thomas M. Owen, actively documented the state’s contribution to the war effort in a period before there was a National Archives. Included in the WWI section of the Alabamians at War Files are the Gold Star Files compiled to honor Alabamians who lost their lives in that conflict. Photographs of African Americans are often found in the Gold Star Files as well as family, education, political, membership, and social information. The Gold Star Files can be located online at www.archives.alabama.gov/goldstar/info.html.

The ADAH maintains and provides restricted access to U.S. military discharge records—also known as DD214’s—for many Alabamians who were separated from the armed services between 1930 and May 1975. Requests from veterans or next-of-kin must include the full name, date of birth, and service number of the veteran. Standard research fees will apply. Alabama residents who separated after May 1975 should contact www.archives.gov/facilities/mo/st_louis.html or National Personnel Record Center, 9700 Page Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63132, (314) 263-3901.

The ADAH Alabamians at War files also record the activities of the Alabama home front during World War II and cover a variety of topics ranging from civil defense activities to day care facilities. World War II casualties lists can be located online for each state at: www.accessgenealogy.com/worldwar.

Church Records

“The Black Church has no challenger as the cultural womb of the black community. Not only did it give birth to new institutions such as schools, banks, insurance companies, and low income housing, it also provided an academy and an arena for political activities, and it nurtured young talent for musical, dramatic, and artistic development. E. Franklin Frazier’s apt descriptive phrase, ‘nation within a nation,’ pointed to these multifarious levels of community involvement found in the Black Church, in addition to the traditional concerns of worship, moral nurture, education, and social control. Much of black culture is heavily indebted to the black religious tradition, including most forms of black music, drama, literature, storytelling, and even humor.”
— C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H. Mamiya, The Black Church in the African American Experience

Engaging in the activities mentioned above, the Black Church created many records concerning African Americans. Because of the nature of the beast, these records were not kept consistently, throughout the state. The church records housed at the ADAH range from various church histories, WPA church surveys, and some church cemetery records. The main search strategy for locating African Americans Church records in Alabama is to see what can be found at the ADAH and other repositories throughout the state.

For example, Samford University in Birmingham, which has a great collection of Baptist records on microfilm, has the Alabama African American Baptist annual reports, African American Baptist Churches, Conventions, and Association records, the American Missionary Association, and the American Home Missionary Society Papers, 1816–1935. The American Missionary Association (AMA) was established in 1846 as an interdenominational missionary society devoted to abolitionist principles. The major support for the Association came from Congregational churches, and was financially aided by Wesleyan Methodists, Free Presbyterians, and Free Will Baptists. In 1865 the Association became the official agency of the Congregational churches for conducting educational work among the freedmen. Their papers provide detailed records of schools established and the community reaction.

The American Home Missionary Society (AHMS) was formed in 1826 by representatives of the Congregational, Presbyterian, Dutch Reformed, and Associate Reformed churches. Following the Civil War, the Society sent missionaries south to establish schools for all children especially the recently freed slaves. Their collection details the work of the Society and its missionaries, supplying information about the communities and their people.

Both the AMA and the AHMS original records are housed at the Amistad Research Center, Tulane University, New Orleans (www.tulane.edu/~amistad).

 

 

Sample records from Masonic lodge proceedings.

 

Another place for locating church records in Alabama is Huntingdon College, Montgomery, which houses some of the state’s Methodist Church records. To find records pertaining to your ancestors’ religious activities in the state, you will need to know the county in which they resided and the denomination they would have most likely have been a part of. Church records locations in Alabama are like many of Alabama’s records for African Americans—uncharted grounds. The reference section at the end of this chapter will be helpful in your search for the location of Alabama Church Records relating to Alabama’s African Americans.

Et Cetera

The records found within the Proceedings of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge: Free and Accepted Masons for the State of Alabama holds a wealth of information about the lodges and mason membership. The Order of the Eastern Star will have similar records on their members and chapters. For example, the proceedings of the 94th Annual Communication of Prince Hall Grand Lodge held in Huntsville in1964 list the names of the deceased endowment and burial benefits claims paid from July 1, 1963 to June 30, 1964. Donations to churches, lodges, and aid to widows and needy brothers are also included in the proceedings along with the names of the recipients of scholarships to historically black colleges and universities. Further information may be obtained from the Masonic and Eastern Star Headquarters in Birmingham. It is reasonable to think that the burial benefit claims paid by the Masons and Eastern Stars were paid to the next of kin and will lead the researcher to additional information on the families. The Masonic and Eastern Star burial benefit claims on members may help with breaking down that brick wall that we as family historians come to at times in our research. Check with either of these organizations to see what other records will benefit you in your research. Keep in mind that some of the information that you might want may be restricted and you may not be able to view it. That is the right of the organization, but by working within the guidelines of both organizations, you might be able to get the information.

Civilian Conservation Corps in Alabama (CCC)

“The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public works program that put over three million young men and adults to work during the Great Depression of the 1930s and 1940s in the United States” (The CCC Alumni web site, www.cccalumni.org). There were thirty African American camps in Alabama in various counties. The CCC enrollees throughout the country were credited with battling against the destruction and erosion of the country’s natural resources by their efforts in planting an estimated of three billion trees from 1933–1942. Two of the African American camps published a newspaper or newsletter, and two of the African American camps were made up of veterans of World War I. Because the Army, the Agriculture and Interior and the Labor departments administered the CCC Camps, records and reports were kept in abundance on the enrollees. If you are lucky enough to have had a relative that worked in one of these camps, you can access his information from the National Archives. All personnel files are still held by the federal government. The enrollee or the enrollee’s next of kin may request discharge or dismissal papers. The personnel files and discharges or dismissal papers will have genealogical information such as records of mandatory monthly family allotments for each enrollee’s family, reason for dismissal or honorably discharged, place of birth, and physical description.

 

 

Sample Civilian Conservation Corps dismissal record.

 

In addition to planting trees, the enrollees also attend educational classes on their own time. More than 40,000 illiterates were taught to read and write throughout the Corps. The monthly individual camp education report lists the names of the corpsmen, academic and vocational subjects taken, and job training information. You can contact the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), National Personnel Records Center, Civilian Personnel Records, 111 Winnebago Street, St. Louis, MO 63118, for discharge papers on the Corps’ enrollees. The National Archives will have some information on the state parks camps, which will include Camp Inspection Reports, Project Reports with pictures, and some correspondence. If the National Archives does not have information on the camp that you are researching, you may want to include in your search some forests nearest to the camp that you are searching for the original reports from their CCC projects. Also, approximately 80,000 Native Americans were enrolled in the CCC before it was terminated in 1942.

To request the Certificate of Discharge for the CCC enrollee from the NARA you must identify yourself as a son/daughter requesting on behalf of the enrollee, having the enrollee sign the letter giving authorization. If the enrollee has passed away, you will need to send a copy of the death certificate. Include as much information as possible to help find the records. Include birth date, state and county where they enrolled, and the date they enrolled if possible. If known include the date of discharge. There is no charge. It may take approximately three to four weeks for delivery.

For more information, see Appendix D.

Genealogical Publications

Despite the fact that genealogical periodicals offer many sources of hidden information, they are often overlooked or under-used by family historians. One reasons is that many do not have a cumulative index but are indexed by each issue. This type of searching takes a lot time and can be overwhelming, but by narrowing your information to a specific locale, you will find periodicals a great deal of help. Most nationally known and some local periodicals have annual cumulative indexes that will make it possible to review a year’s listings at one time.

Many genealogical publications in Alabama and other states are produced, created, and distributed by the local genealogical societies. The members of the local genealogical societies play a very important role in getting records transcribed and published in their local newsletters or journals that would not have been otherwise brought to light. The members will often take on such projects as the recording of a will book, they will conduct cemetery surveys, or index materials found in the county court house. In the second section of this book I have listed the names of the existing Alabama county genealogical societies, their addresses, and their publications. An advantage of becoming a member of a local society is that some of the societies will do research for their members. Consulting county periodicals and their indexes should be a part of your search methodology.

The following books or articles may be helpful:

Resources

Abernathy, Thomas P. The Formative Period in Alabama, 1815-1828. University of Alabama Press, 1965.

Aptheker, Herbert. “Negro Casualties in the Civil War.” The Journal of Negro History. 47 (January, 1947): 10–80.

Aptheker, Herbert. “The Negro in the Union Navy.” The Journal of Negro History. 32 (April, 1947): 169–200.

Bailey, Richard. Neither Carpetbaggers Nor Scalawags: Black Officeholders During the Reconstruction of Alabama, 1867–1878. Third ed. Montgomery, AL., 1997.

Barefield, Marilyn D. “Military Records.” Researching in Alabama: A Genealogical Guide. Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press. Inc., 1987. pp. 104–107.

Bergeron, Arthur W., et. al. “Black Southerners in Gray: Essays on Afro-Americans in Confederate Armies.” Journal of Confederate Histories Series. Southern Heritage Press. 11 (1994).

Biennial Reports of the State Penitentiary, 1850–1855.

Biggs, Bradley. The Triple Nickels: American’s First All-Black Paratroop Unit. Hamden, CT: Archon Books, 1986.

Billington, Monroe Lee. New Mexico’s Buffalo Soldiers, 1866–1900. University of Colorado Press, 1991.

Booth, Charles Octavius. The Cyclopedia of the Colored Baptist of Alabama. Birmingham: Birmingham Publishing Company, 1895.

Brewer, William G. A History of Alabama. New York: University Publishing Co., 1900.

Cornish, Dudley Taylor. The Sable Arm: Negro Troops in the Union Army, 1861–1865. New York: Longmans, 1956.

Cornish, Dudley Taylor. “The Union Army as a Training School for Negroes.” The Journal of Negro History. 37 (October, 1952): 368–382.

Davis, Jerry A. “Black Wings of Tuskegee.” Alabama Heritage. 27 (Winter, 1993): 30–43.

Davis, Robert Scott. Tracing Your Alabama Past. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2003.

Dyer, Brainerd. “The Treatment of Colored Union Troops by the Confederates, 1861–65.” The Journal of Negro History. 20.3: 273–286.

Flynt, Wayne. Alabama in the Twentieth Century. University of Alabama Press, 2004.

Jakeman, Robert J. The Divided Skies: Establishing Segregated Flight Training at Tuskegee, Alabama, 1934–1942. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 1992.

Johnson, Edward A. History of Negro Soldiers in the Spanish-American War, and Other Items of Interest. Raleigh: Capital Printing Co., 1899.

Lofton, William. “Northern Labor and the Negro during the Civil War.” The Journal of Negro History. 34 (July, 1949): 251–273.

Mooreman, Joseph H. Leaders of the Colored Race in Alabama. Mobile: News Publishing, 1928.

Nelson, Bernard H. “Confederate Slave Impressments Legislation, 1861–1865.” The Journal of Negro History. 31 (October, 1946): 392–410.

Newman, Debra L. Black History: A Guide to Civilian Records in the National Archives. Washington, DC: National Archives Trust Fund Board, 1984.

Owen, Thomas M. History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography. 4 Vols. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1921.

Pasquill, Robert F., Jr. Researching the Civilian Conservation Corps in Alabama. Interview. January 6, 2005.

Pasquill, Robert F., Jr. The Civilian Conservation Corps in Alabama, 1933–1942: A Great and Lasting Good. University of Alabama Press, 2008.

Peterson, Clarence S. Known Military Dead During the Spanish American War & The Philippines Insurrection. 1898–1901.

Pickett, Albert. History of Alabama. New York: University Publishing Co., 1900.

Pohoresky, William. “Buffalo Soldiers in Black and White.” Civil War Times Illustrated. 37 (February, 1999): 40.

Proceedings of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge: Free and Accepted Masons Jurisdiction of State of Alabama. Huntsville, AL: July 21–23, 1964.

Quarles, Benjamin. The Negro in the Civil War. New York: Russell, 1968.

Reddick, L. D. “The Negro Policy of the United States Army, 1775–1945.” The Journal of Negro History. 34 (January, 1949): 9–29.

Reid, Robert D. “The Negro in Alabama during the Civil War.” The Journal of Negro History. 35 (July, 1950): 265–288.

Reid, Stephen N. History of Colored Baptist in Alabama. N.p., n.d.

Rose, James and Alice Eichholz. Black Genesis: A Resource Book for African-American Genealogy. Second ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 2003.

Scheips, Paul J. “Lincoln and the Chiriqui Colonization Project.” The Journal of Negro History. 37 (October, 1952): 418–453.

Schweninger, Loren. Black Property Owners in the South, 1790–1915. Urbana: University of Chicago Press, 1990.

Scott, Edward Van Zile. The Unwept: Black American Soldiers and the Spanish-American War. Montgomery: Black Belt Press, 1996. p. 240.

Smith, John D. Black Voices from Reconstruction, 1865–1877. University Press of Florida, 1997.

The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. 128 volumes. Washington, 1880–1901.

Wesley, Charles H. “The Employment of Negroes as Soldiers in the Confederate Army.” The Journal of Negro History. 4.3: 239–253.

Wright, Reuben Leon. The Role of the Buffalo Soldier During the Spanish-American War. Ft. Leavenworth, KS: US. Army Command and General Staff College. 1 (June, 1992).

 

[5] Rose, James M., and Alice Eichholz. Black Genesis: A Resource Book for African-American Genealogy. Second ed. 2003. pp. 21–25.