Pleasant Grove East in Chesapeake, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

The Cuffeytown Thirteen

Patriot Heroes

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, October 28, 2011

1. The Cuffeytown Thirteen CWT Marker

Inscription. Thirteen African American veterans of the Civil War are interred nearby at the Cuffeytown Historic Cemetery. They served in the 5th, 10th, and 36th United States Colored Troops infantry regiments organized in 1863 and 1864, after the Emancipation Proclamation authorized the recruitment of blacks for the U.S. Army and Navy. The 5th USCT, organized in Ohio in August 1863, fought in North Carolina as well as in the Virginia battles of the Crater at Petersburg, New Market Heights, and Fair Oaks. The 10th USCT was organized in Virginia in November 1863 and fought in 1864 at the Battle of Wilson’s Wharf (Fort Pocahontas). The 36th USCT, organized from the 2nd North Carolina Colored Infantry in February 1864, fought in the Battle of New Market Heights, the Appomattox Campaign, and in North Carolina. The 5th USCT was demobilized in North Carolina in September 1865, while the 10th and 36th USCT were ordered to Texas after the war and mustered out there in 1866.

About 200,000 African Americans served in the U.S. Army and Navy during

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the Civil War, fighting for freedom and the restoration of the Union. Free blacks founded Cuffeytown long before the war. The veterans and other residents established the Gabriel Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in 1866.

In the darkness of their bondage,
In the depths of slavery’s night,
Their muskets flashed the dawning,
And they fought their way to light.
– Paul Laurence Dunbar, “The Colored Soldier”

The Cuffeytown Thirteen

5th USCT
Pvt. Walter Smith, Co. I

10th USCT:
Sgt. William Coffey, Co. G
Pvt. Bluet Cuffey, Co. H
Corp. Emerson Cuffey, Co. G
Pvt. Lemuel Cuffey, Co. F
Sgt. Wilson Cuffey, Co. H
Sgt. William Cuffey, Co. F
Corp. Levi Sevils, Co. H
Pvt. Cornelius Smith, Co. F
Pvt. James W. Smith, Co. F
Pvt. Samuel Smith, Co. H
Pvt. John Whitehurst, Co. H

36th USCT:
Sgt. Thomas Van, Co. C

Erected by Virginia Civil War Trails.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Religion & Religious Structures

Long Ridge Rd (facing south) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, October 28, 2011

2. Long Ridge Rd (facing south)

• War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion (AME Zion) Church, and the Virginia Civil War Trails series lists. A significant historical month for this entry is February 1864.

Location. 36° 37.798′ N, 76° 9.86′ W. Marker is in Chesapeake, Virginia. It is in Pleasant Grove East. It is at the intersection of Long Ridge Road and Cuffee Road, on the left when traveling north on Long Ridge Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2216 Long Ridge Road, Chesapeake VA 23322, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Hampton Roads,

specifically in Coastal Virginia,

and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Tidewater,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original

Long Ridge Rd (facing north) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, October 28, 2011

3. Long Ridge Rd (facing north)

Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: St. Bride's Church (approx. 3.2 miles away); Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery (approx. 4.4 miles away); Dividing Line (approx. 5.7 miles away in North Carolina); Seven Patriot Heroes (approx. 6.2 miles away); Great Bridge Schoolhouse Monument (approx. 7 miles away); Southern Branch Chapel / Battle of Great Bridge / Wilson Family (approx. 7.2 miles away); "Shots Rang Out" (approx. 7.3 miles away in North Carolina); Battle of Great Bridge (approx. 7½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chesapeake.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Moyock (was approx. 7.3 miles away in North Carolina but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Gabriel Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church established 1866 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, October 28, 2011

4. Gabriel Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church established 1866

5th USCT, Delaware, Ohio image. Click for full size.

Ohio Historical Society, circa 1863

5. 5th USCT, Delaware, Ohio

Wikipedia - The 127th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment was the first complete African American regiment recruited in Ohio. It was later re-designated the 5th Regiment, USCT. Ohio Historical Center Archives Library [SC1018]

Unidentified brothers in arms image. Click for full size.

circa 1863

6. Unidentified brothers in arms

Two unidentified African American union soldiers, full-length portrait, wearing uniforms, seated with arms around each other's shoulders, facing front. Library of Congress [LC-DIG-ppmsca-13484]

Credits. This page was last revised on November 2, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 29, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 3,739 times since then and 114 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on October 29, 2011, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.