1st South Carolina Infantry {Union}

1st South Carolina Infantry, {Union}

Posted 3/28/2023

Finials Style: Flagstaff Presentation Sleeve

Location Housed: United States Military Museum, West Point, New York

Recovery Location: Unknown

Finial Attribution: 1st South Carolina Infantry Regiment, {Union}, {1929#4194, 1929#4002-11}

Photograph Attribution: United States Military Museum, West Point, New York

Additional Information: The 1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment {Colored} was one the first colored regiment in the Union army being formally mustered into federal service January 31, 1863.The position that the regiment was the first black regiment is conjecturer based on various sources, however, it is the opinion of the author, the regiment was the first. The regiment was formed by General Rufus Saxton and which was made up of former black slaves, most of which were from Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. White officers commanded the regiment, while former black female slaves, Harriet Tubman, and Susie King Taylor acted as cooks, nurses, spies, scouts, laundresses, and educators to men in the regiment. Susie King Taylor had family who fought in the regiment during her tenure with the regiment from August 1862 until the regiment mustered out of service in February 1866, after the regiment was renamed the 33rd United States Colored Troops.

On January 1, 1863, the 1st South Carolina was located at Camp Sexton, South Carolina, in celebration of the reading of Abraham Lincolns' Emancipation Proclamation. The proclamation was read by Dr. W.H. Brisbane, and the presentation of two beautiful stands of colors one of which was made by a lady from Connecticut, while the other was made by Reverend George Barrell Cheever, who was the pastor of the Church of the Puritans in New York City for many years, and was also an author who also sat on the New York Medical College Board. Chaplain Mansfield French, who would later become the chaplain of the 136th Regiment United States Colored Infantry made the presentation speech.

On the brass hardware in the middle of the staff of one of the flags was engraved: "Presented by Rev. George B. Cheever D.D./in the Church of the Puritan N.Y. ? On Thanksgiving day Nov. 27th 1862/ to the 1st Reg. S.C./ through Rev. Mansfield French/ then collection/ before taken up in that church/committee. Edward Ketchum, Dexter Fairbanks, Charles C. Leigh" It is not known why the engraving was made in November 1862, and the flags were not presented until January 1, 1863, . It is believed that it took sometime for the celebration to take place and for all parties to make the trip to South Carolina, and what a more appropriate time for the presentation than the reading of the proclamation.

In 1864, another flag was presented to the regiment, and the brass sleeve that held the two pieces of the staff together is also engraved, "1st Regt. S.C.V. presented by the mothers, wives, and children" This flag is believed to have been presented at about the time the regiment became the 33rd United States Colored Infantry on February 8, 1864.

The first image seen on the left is from the first flag presented in January 1863, while the second image seen on the right is from the third flag presented to the regiment inn 1864. These images were provided by the United States Military museum at West Point, New York.

1. Dissinger, Kaleb, M. CIV USARMY AWC {USA}

2. Taylor, Susie King, 1902, A Black Woman's Civil War memoirs: Reminiscences of my life in camp with the 33rd U.S. Colored Troops, late 1st South Carolina Volunteers, New York: M. Wiener Pub. Distributed by the Talman Co.

3. Ancestry.com.

4. Wikipedia, 1st South Carolina Volunteer regiment {Colored}