I've written here before about the
First Kansas Colored Volunteers, a unit mostly comprised of runaway slaves from Missouri and Arkansas who fled to Kansas. They had the honor of being the first black regiment in the American army to see combat when they fought the Battle of Island Mound in Missouri on October 26, 1862. There they defeated a much larger force of Confederate
bushwhackers.
Now, after long preparation, Missouri has set up the
Battle of Island Mound State Historic Site. On the 150th anniversary of the battle they had a formal opening and reenactment. Check out the photo gallery on their site for some great shots!
Yeah, I'm a bit late with this news. Much have something to do with
traveling in Iraq. :-)
Thanks for this post, Sean. I'm just catching up visiting blogs. Looks like you've been busy!
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving,
Donna
Great site. I'm your newest follower.
ReplyDeleteWelcome aboard! I'm a bit off topic at the moment with all this Iraq stuff, but there's more Civil War stuff coming!
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