COMMEMORATION
SERVICE FOR UNITED STATES COLORED TROOPS
(U.S.C.T.), UNION SOLDIERS
The Lafayette County Juneteenth
Foundation will be honoring three United States Colored Troop
(U.S.C.T) Union Army veterans who are buried in the Mount Muncie
Cemetery which is south on Shelby Road in Higginsville, MO. We will
be honoring these soldiers on June 14, 2019 at 3 pm during a special
commemoration service. Dr. Joahn Hall of the Howard A. Hall
Foundation and the Buffalo Six Ranch in Richmond, MO will be
assisting by providing a riderless horse tribute.
All of the soldiers were born enslaved
and died as free men. We honor them for their sacrifices to end
slavery, America's horrific institution.
“...Sing a song full of faith that
the dark past has taught us, sing a song full of hope that the
present has brought us; facing the rising sun of our new day begun,
let us march on till victory is won...”
(excerpt from song titled “Lift Every
Voice” by J. Rosamond Johnson and James Weldon Johnson).
Joseph Johnson was born ca. 1842
died on November 16, 1914. He was born in Virginia and he died in
Lafayette County, MO. Johnson was married to Winnie Johnson and he
worked as a janitor. No other information about his parents is
known.
Joseph was a member of the 13th Regiment Heavy Artillery. This
regiment organized at Camp Nelson, KY, on June 13, 1864. It was
attached to the Military District of Kentucky, Department of the
Ohio, to February, 1865, and to the Department of Kentucky, to
November 1865. The regiment served in garrison duty at Camp Nelson,
Smithland, Lexington and other places in Kentucky until November
1865. It mustered out on November 18, 1865.
SOURCE:
civilwararchive.com”
Perry Parker was born
ca. 1842 and the date of his death is
unknown. He was married to Eliza Parker. Perry worked as a farmer.
The names of children were Minnie, Lawson, Frances, Nedore,
Rebekkah, and Houston. Eliza died in 1927 in Higginsville, MO and is
buried in the Mount Muncie Cemetery and was a widow at the time of
her death. In a February 11, 1910 article in the
Higginsville
Advance, listed that the body of Frances Jones, Negro which
was brought from Centerville, IA., Thursday was buried in the Negro
cemetery here Saturday. The funeral was at the home of her mother.
Eliza Parker.
“Perry Parker was a slave owned by Daniel Parker. In November
of 1863, at the age of 22, he enlisted at Lexington, MO in the Union
army. He was immediately sent to Benton Barracks in St. Louis and
became part of the 62
nd USC Inf. The company was
organized as Co. “D” in the 1
st Colored MO Volunteers
on Dec. 9, 1863. On January 22, 1864 the company left Benton
Barracks on for New Orleans, LA on a steamboat. The boat sank at St.
James Parrish, but all on board survived. The unit arrived at Port
Hudson, MS on Feb. 14, 1864 where they were stationed until Oct. 5,
1864 when they were ordered to Brazos, Texas. This unit saw active
duty in what is widely believed to be the last battle in the Civil
War at Palmetto Ranch, TX. After the war the company did various
duties in Texas until March of 1866 when they were mustered out of
the service. Perry’s unit, the 62
nd MO USC Inf., is
credited with creating Lincoln University in Jefferson City. These
men donated part of their pay to leave a legacy of learning that is
still in operation today.”
Charles Smith was born
ca. 1844. and died on January 21,
1926. He was born in Virginia and died in Hgginsivlle, MO. He was a
widower at the time of his death and worked as a janitor. Arthur
Smith was an informant on the death certificate. Charles Smith's
father was Manuel Workcuff who was born in Viriginia.
Smith was a slave owned by David Smith in Cooper County, MO. At
the age of 18 he enlisted in the Union army. He was mustered into
the 83
rd Regimental Infantry at Fort Scott, KS in July of
1863. The 83
rd infantry was organized from the famous 2
nd
Kansas Colored Infantry who had been the first colored troops to
engage in battle in the Civil War at Island Mound, MO. Up until that
time it had been believed that colored troops were incapable of
combat duties. They had served primarily in support, such as
escorts, guards, and maintenance. The 83
rd would
distinguish themselves yet again in battle at Jenkins Ferry and the
entire Camden Arkansas campaign. They were also the first colored
unit to charge and overtake rebel forces in a battle at Camden AK.
This unit returned to Fort Smith and was later mustered out on in the
fall of 1865 at Leavenworth, Kansas. The regiment lost 2 officers,
32 enlisted men were killed and mortally wounded, and 211 enlisted
men died of disease.”
Sources:
www.civilwararchive.com
and
www.kansasguardmuseum.org.”
Excerpts are from the Mount Muncie
Cemetery: A History & Burial Registry, Higginsville, Missouri,
2009 written by Kay Russell and Linda G. Smith.
