First South Carolina Infantry

First South Carolina Infantry. . "...I don't intend to lay down my gun till the war is done, and our brethren all get their freedom..." , -Sergeant Prince Rivers, First South Carolina Infantry, On August 25, 1862, General Rufus Saxton was authorized by the US War Department to "arm, uniform, equip, and receive into service...volunteers of African descent...not exceeding 5,000." During the Summer and Fall of that year, Black men from the South Carolina Sea Islands, as well as Georgia, Florida, and as far away as Virginia, joined the First South Carolina Volunteer Infantry (African Descent)., The regiment completed their training in early 1863 at Camp Saxton along the Beaufort River. These self-emancipated soldiers prepared for war on the landscape surrounding you, and were among the first Black men to wear the United States Army uniform. Here, the men of the First South Carolina took some of the first steps toward citizenship in the United States., (captions) , Sergeant Prince Rivers was previously enslaved in Beaufort, but was among the first to enlist in the First South Carolina in 1862 and served as a color bearer for the regiment. After the war, Rivers acted as a champion for Black equality and served in the South Carolina State Legislature during Reconstruction. As one of South Carolina's most influential Black leaders, he became a founder of Aiken County and held the offices of Mayor and Chief Magistrate in Hamburg until 1876., Born enslaved near Savannah, Georgia, Susie King Taylor self-emancipated in 1862 and served as a nurse, laundress, and teacher for the men of the regiment. After the Civil War she worked as a teacher for freed people and continued her work to provide aid to US veterans of the late rebellion. Taylor recorded her experiences in a post-war memoir titled Reminscences of My Life in Camp with the 33rd United States Colored Troops, Late 1st S.C., Charlotte Forten, a teacher at Penn School, described the men of the regiment on Emancipation Day, "...I thought I had never seen a sight so beautiful. There were the Black soldiers, in their blue coats and scarlet pants..." The early uniform of the First South Carolina is displayed here by a living historian, The regiment later adopted the traditional blue uniform of the United States Army.