The 1865 Grand Review of United States Colored Troops was commemorated recently in Harrisburg, Pa., where more than 100 re-enactors participated in a re-enactment ceremony. The 13th U.S. Colored Troops of Murfreesboro and the 44th U.S. Colored Troops of Chattanooga comprised a group of 25 Tennesseans who represented the Volunteer State in grand military style.
Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell honored the United States Colored Troops of the Civil War and their descendants on the front steps of the capitol in Harrisburg. In a letter to Rendell, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen wrote, “This event, which recognizes the United States Colored Troops and their families, serves as a vivid reminder of the role these men played in such a significant event in our country.”
As history notes, there were approximately 180,000 members of the Colored Troops who fought in the Civil War and by the end of the war, 24,000 of them were Tennesseans.