John Brown: The First To Die

First South Carolina (Union) Volunteers

One of my students asked me this week if I knew who was the first African-American soldier to die in the Civil War.  Contrary to popular wisdom, the 54th Massachusetts were not the first African-American troops involved in the Civil War...

Thomas Wentworth Higginson

The following primary source documentation comes from the daily log of  Col. Thomas Wentworth Higginson entitled "Army Life in a Black Regiment"...

It is "well known" that the first attempt (duty) to recruit a Black Regiment was given to Charles T. Trowbridge of New York beginning in May of 1862.  The regiment trained on Hilton Head Island, S.C. until the beginning of August, 1862 and was sent to garrison (equip and protect) St. Simon's Island, on the coast of Georgia.

There were Rebel forces on the island and the First S.C. Volunteers were asked to pursue them.  When they arrived at St. Simon's they learned that the Freedmen (African-Americans) of the island had already attacked the Rebels. 

Twenty-five of them had armed themselves, under the command of one of their own number, whose name was John Brown. The second in command was Edward Gould, who was afterwards a corporal in my own regiment. The rebel party retreated before these men, and drew them into a swamp. There was but one path, and the negroes entered single file. The rebels lay behind a great log, and fired upon them. John Brown, the leader, fell dead within six feet of the log,---probably the first black man who fell under arms in the war,---several others were wounded, and the band of raw recruits retreated; as did also the rebels, in the opposite direction. This was the first armed encounter, so far as I know, between the rebels and their former slaves; and it is worth noticing that the attempt was a spontaneous thing, and not accompanied by any white man. The men were not soldiers, nor in uniform, though some of them afterwards enlisted in Trowbridge's company.

 
I never knew till today that "John Brown," was the first negro soldier who fell in this war. He was shot in a skirmish on St. Simon's Island, August 8, 1862. A singular coincidence of names. No wonder our soldiers think him the hero of the John Brown hymn!

"When I strike the bees will begin to swarm!"