19^th-Century African American Soldiers

The African American veterans listed on this page rest in St. Augustine National Cemetery, St. Augustine, Florida. These men died during their military service in the nineteenth century or after their service as veterans. These veterans served in the Civil War, Spanish-American War, or Philippine-American War. The veterans of the Spanish and Philippine-American War enlisted in the regular US Army in the nineteenth-century. They were assigned to predominantly African American units—the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry, and the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Infantry. While their contributions to the nation as soldiers and sailors were critical, white Americans’ racial attitudes forced them to serve in racially-segregated units. Now these men rest beside their white comrades, finally honored for their service and sacrifice to the nation.

Students at UCF researched each one of these men and documented their lives using military service records, census reports, city directories, and any other available source. For a certain subset of these men, UCF student wrote brief biographies using this research. Students also researched and wrote essays on various aspects of the African American experience.

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