June 21, in 1832, Joseph Hayne Rainey was born a slave in the rice-growing region of Georgetown, South Carolina. 1832 was a tumultuous time for race relations in America. The Nat Turner Rebellion of August 1831, in which a slave preacher led a band of enslaved men on a killing spree in Virginia, still caused […]
Tag Archives | Army
Alexander Thomas Augusta – March 8th in African American History
March 8, 1825 Alexander Thomas Augusta, surgeon, professor of medicine, and Civil War veteran, was born in Norfolk, Virginia. Augusta attempted to study medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, but was not allowed to due to his race. Therefore, he enrolled at Trinity Medical College of the University of Toronto and in 1856 received a […]
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Isaiah Mays – February 16th in African American History
February 16, 1858 Isaiah Mays, Medal of Honor recipient, was born enslaved in Carters Bridge, Virginia. By May 11, 1889, Mays was serving as a corporal in Company B of the 24th Infantry Regiment. On that day, he was involved in an engagement with robbers and his actions earned him the medal which was awarded […]
Henry Johnson – January 31st in African American History
January 31, 1904 Henry Johnson, Medal of Honor recipient, died. Johnson was born June 11, 1850 in Boydton, Virginia. The Negro Cavalries were nicknamed “Buffalo Soliders” by the Native Americans that they fought. In 1866, Congress named six all African American Army regiments. The 9th and 10th Cavalries and the 38th, 39th, 40th, and 41st infantry. These […]
Martin Robinson Delany – January 24th in African American History
January 24, 1885 Martin Robinson Delany, abolitionist and the first African American field officer in the United States Army, died. Delany was born May 6, 1812 in Charles Town, West Virginia. Because it was illegal to teach black people to read or write, he and his siblings taught themselves. In 1835, Delany became more actively […]
Rayford Whittingham Logan – January 7th in African American History
January 7, 1897 Rayford Whittingham Logan, historian and Pan-African activist, was born in Washington, D. C. Logan earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Williams College in 1917 and enlisted in the United States Army. In 1919, he requested and was granted a discharge because of his dissatisfaction with the treatment of African Americans. For […]
Ruppert Leon Sargent – January 6th in African American History
January 6, 1938 Ruppert Leon Sargent, Medal of Honor recipient, was born in Hampton, Virginia. Sargent joined the United States Army and by March 15, 1967 was serving as a first lieutenant in Company B, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division during the Vietnam War. On that day, while in Hau Nghia Province […]