Murfreesboro in Rutherford County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
New Citizen Soldiers
By the end of the Civil War, 150 black regiments - called the United States Colored Troops - made up 10 percent of the U.S. Army. Their death toll was high. From 1863-1865, one third of U.S.C.T. volunteers died while in military service.
Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters, U-S, let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pockets, and there is no power on earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship in the United States.
Frederick Douglass
From the first shots in 1861 up to mid-1863, Union and Confederate leaders both saw men of color mainly as a pool of labor available to support the war effort. Black men built many fortifications - like the earthen walls where you now stand - for North and South.
(Captions for portraits in the lower center):
Tennessean Hubbard Pryor just before his November 1864 enlistment.
Private Pryor, 44th Regiment, United States Colored Troops.
Erected by Stones River National Battlefield - National Park Service - U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is November 1864.
Location. 35° 51.048′ N, 86° 24.563′ W. Marker is in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, in Rutherford County. Marker can be reached from Golf Lane (Old Fort Street), on the right when traveling north. Located along the trail in the Fortress Rosecrans unit of the Stones River National Battlefield. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Murfreesboro TN 37129, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. I Never Saw Anything Like Them Before (here, next to this marker); Covered by Cross Fires (within shouting distance of this marker); Living Under the Guns (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Lunette Thomas (about 400 feet away); Toil and Mud (about 600 feet away); Fortress Rosecrans (about 600 feet away); Defense of Fortress Rosecrans (about 700 feet away); a different marker also named Fortress Rosecrans (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Murfreesboro.
Also see . . . Fortress Rosecrans. National Park Service page. (Submitted on November 12, 2010, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.)
Credits. This page was last revised on March 16, 2021. It was originally submitted on November 12, 2010, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 845 times since then and 42 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on November 12, 2010, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. 2. submitted on March 14, 2021, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia. 3, 4. submitted on November 12, 2010, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.