They Led the Way

They Led the Way. Goldsboro's Own USCT Regiment. On March 27, 1865, a column of Black recruits in new blue uniforms marched down Center Street passed this location of Gen. William Sherman's headquarters. They had just mustered in as the United States Colored Infantry (USCT). Their march was literal and metaphorical, for each step they took to join the U.S. Army brought them personal pride and also advanced the cause of their race., The regiment had atypical beginnings. The men had first served as volunteer pioneers for Sherman's 60,000 troops during the winter of 1864 and in the spring of 1865. During the Carolinas Campaign, these 1,100 determined Black men wielded picks, axes, and shovels to corduroy roads, build bridges, and clear trees through the dense forests of Georgia, the frozen swamps of South Carolina, and the sandy soil of North Carolina. Sherman's army arrived in Goldsboro tattered and shoeless, but were soon resupplied as the town was a Union railhead., Impressed with their grit, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton ordered the pioneers to be organized as a USCT regiment. One man remembered they "were stripped stark naked and examined." Those who passed the physical mustered into the 135th under Sherman's gaze., Three weeks later, the men of the 135th under the command of Col. John Gurley, left Goldsboro shouldering muskets instead of tools. Hard service lay ahead during the pursuit of Gen. Joe Johnston's Confederate army. "We marched day and night and knew no Sundays," remembered a 135th soldier., On May 24, 1865, the 135th paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue in the Grand Review of the Armies to celebrate Union victory. They were the only USCT regiment in the march, and represented the more than 200,000 Black soldiers who fought for their freedom., (captions) , The Black pioneers excelled at the arduous task of corduroying roads They felled trees and placed them over swampy roadway sections so columns of troops literally wouldn't get stuck in the mud. - Courtesy Harper's Weekly, Federal soldiers march by the main reviewing stand during the May 23-24, 1865, Grand Review of the Armies. The 135th USCT marched on the second day of the event, proudly representing African American contributions to victory - Courtesy Library of Congress