Natchez Sons of Union Civil War Veterans organize ancestral camp

Veterans Day November 11, formerly Armistice Day, commemorates the heroism and sacrifices of the people who served the nation in all its wars.

As the celebration of Veteran’s Day reaches its high point across the nation, a major effort is underway in Natchez to organize the newest unit of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW), the national organization succeeding the once formidable Civil War veterans’ group known as the Grand Army of the Republic (1866-1956), whose membership was open only to Civil War veterans. The GAR was dissolved in 1956 with the death of its last member. 

But the “sons” of these veterans had sought to form units to carry on the GAR mission. They were persistent and their numbers grew into the thousands. The SUVCW was granted a charter by the U.S. Congress on August 20, 1954, “to preserve the history and legacy of the United States Armed Forces veterans who fought during the Civil War.” The national headquarters is in Harrisburg, PA.

The essential mission of the SUVCW is to preserve the history and legacy of the Union heroes of the Civil War, keeping alive the legacy of Memorial Day, and to promote patriotic education in the schools and the community. The observation of Decoration Day/Memorial Day has its earliest beginnings in the southeast, including Natchez, said Darrell White. 

The Natchez Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War will attain its official “Camp” designation in January 2025, thereby becoming the first such unit in the southeast region. The Mississippi Camp is a unit within the Tennessee Department of the SUVCW. 

Three of the main organizers of the William Washington Hence Camp #1624 in Natchez are Royal Hill, Darrell White, and Jamal McCullen. All three are direct descendants of members of the USCT units that were deployed in Civil War Natchez, said Hill.

HONORING USCT

The Natchez organizers said that until recently, there was no acknowledgment by the SUVCW of the contributions of the USCT to the Civil War. Progress has been made to correct the situation and the SUVCW will offer full acknowledgement of the USCT as a viable and effective contributor to the Civil War, Hill said. 

White explains that official records of the Civil War show the largest number of Black troops in the war in the Mississippi Valley were recruited from Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

 “The loyal Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War must be put in the context of this region,” said White. “They were Black Union soldiers under the Union Army command while fighting in the heart of the Confederacy, here in southwest Mississippi.”

White and his associates discovered there wasn’t a single SUVCW camp dedicated to the United States Colored Troops (USCT) in their region. The camp is the local unit, while the Department is a larger area encompassing at least three camps. 

“We came to find out there were no camps or units of that national organization established here in the region where most of the action occurred,” White said.  “We figured there ought to be one. That was our motivation for looking into the possibility of establishing that particular camp – the William Washington Hence Camp #1624 – in this area.”

Membership in the camp is available through direct lineage to a Civil War veteran or as an affiliate. Affiliate members must have high esteem for the SUVCW cause, will have done research, and should want to be a part of telling the story.

NATCHEZ COMMITMENT 

The City of Natchez has committed to constructing a Memoria Plaza dedicated to the USCT, said White. White and his colleagues are concerned some other groups might attempt to take credit for the hard work Natchez SUVCW put in to erect a monument to the USCT. 

“Our fear is that some of the Johnny-come-latelies will attempt to position themselves to be the ones to develop the narrative,” White said. “But we are the individuals who have been doing this work for the past 10 to 15 years.” 

The monument will honor the six Black regiments serving in Natchez during the Civil War after a relatively easy conquest of the city by the Union on July 13, 1863. The Black regiments were the 6th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery, and five infantry regiments – the 58th, 63rd, 64th, 70th, and 71st USCI. 

The official records of the Civil War show a total of 179,000 Black soldiers and 29,000 sailors were drawn into the overall war effort. The USCT soldiers were assigned to 175 different regiments. The federal records show most of the troops – about 90,000 – came from the Confederate states.