Milton M. Holland

Milton M. Holland. . (side A) , Born a slave in Texas on August 1, 1844, Holland was brought to the integrated Albany Manual Labor University in 1851 by his friend and owner where he learned the trade of shoemaker. He acted as a servant to Colonel Nelson Van Vorhes from 1861-1863. In the summer of 1863 he formed Company C of Athens County men for the 5th United States Colored Infantry here at this fairgrounds and eventually attained the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major. As a result of rallying the regiment at the Battle of New Market Heights on September 29, 1864, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the Butler Medal and a battlefield commission to Captain, the later denied by the War Department on the basis of color. (Continued on other side). (side B) (Continued from other side). Holland returned to Athens for a brief period after the war. He then lived in Columbus for three years and married Virginia Dickey of that city before residing in the Washington D.C. area for the rest of his life. He served in several positions in the U.S. Treasury Department, earned a law degree from Howard University in 1872 and worked in various capacities for the Ohio Republican Party. He was also a member of the Washington Emigrant Aid Society, worked on numerous civil rights issues, served on the local school board and helped form several of the first black-owned businesses. These included the Capitol Savings Bank, the Industrial Building and Savings Company and the Alpha Insurance Company. He died on May 15, 1910., in Silver Springs, MD, at the age of 66. He is buried with honor in the Arlington National Cemetery.