On April 7, 1865, Maj. Gen. Sherman, during his campaign in North Carolina, was given permission by the War Department for General Blair (Maj. Gen. Francis P. Blair, Jr.) to organize a colored regiment. 135th US Colored Infantry was organized at Goldsboro, N. C. on March 28, 1865 and mustered into the US Army on March 28, 1865 at Page Station, NC. They then served in Department of North Carolina until October, 1865. The regiment was mustered out on October 23, 1865 at Lousiville, KY.

Very little is known about this regiment but it is believed that it was made up from the refugees following Sherman's army into North Carolina and the regiment contained men from every Southern state east of the Mississippi River. It was carried as a North Carolina regiment because it was organized in the State.

Renee Ingram, of the African American Heritage Preservation Foundation, Inc., has researched this regiment using documents at the National Archives in Washington, DC. She has found that out of the 1200 men who served in the 135th USCI, approximately 200 were from North Carolina. Here we have posted the data from the Regimental Descriptive Book of the 135th US Colored Infantry on these soldiers from North Carolina.

SOURCES:

Regimental Descriptive Book of the One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Regiment, US Colored Infantry, National Archives, Washington, DC.

Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Vol. 2. Dayton, OH: Morningside, 1979. Ref. See p. 1740 (1 photocopied page) for a concise summary of the regiment's service.

O.R.--Series I--Volume XLVII/3 [S# 100] - Union Correspondence, Orders, And Returns Relating to Operationa in North Carolina, South Carolina, Southern Georgia, and East Florida, from March 24, 1865, to June 30, 1865.(*)--#5.

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