14th Tennessee Colored Infantry

The 14th Tennessee Colored Infantry was organized during the month of November 1864, in Gallatin, Tennessee. The men were commanded by Lt. Col. Thomas Jefferson Morgan. Most of the recruits for the 14th Tennessee were former slaves from towns throughout Middle Tennessee. Morgan went all across Middle Tennessee looking for slaves that were willing to join this regiment. Morgan did not want to force men to join, he only wanted those that would voluntarily serve. In order for a slave to enlist, the owner had to provide consent. By providing consent, the owner was given a $300 bounty. By the time Morgan was finished recruiting, he had 120 men. Most new recruits were subjected to a thorough medical examination, but the 120 initial men were exempt. It is not known how many of the 120 were actually accepted into the regiment. The headquarters for recruiting, by this time, had been moved to Sparta, Tennessee. It is unknown how many of these recruits came to Sparta from surrounding counties in order to join up. Morgan had much success recruiting in Sparta, due to the high percentage of free blacks that lived there. The 14th Tennessee saw their first battle action during the Battle of Nashville. They were first ordered to charge up Overton Hill, in order to test the Confederate defenses, but were forced to retreat. They later charged up Shy's Hill, this time they forced the enemy to retreat, successfully turning John Bell Hood's left flank. In mid-January they were forced to retreat to Chattanooga. The troops had to wait a year before they were mustered. By volunteering to fight, and doing it well, it proved Morgan's theory that "negroes will fight." After the Civil War finally ended, most of the soldiers left the Upper Cumberland. The 14 Tennessee Colored Infantry will go down in history as being the only known group of colored troops that were able to take up arms against their masters and win.

Lt. Col. Thomas Jefferson Morgan

The above information is from research done by Dr. Troy D. Smith, I'm using it for the purpose of promoting Moore Historical Consulting, and doing some research for the Cookeville History Museum. The picture above is not the 14th Tennessee Colored Infantry, but a generic picture of a group of colored troops. 

Stay tuned for more blog posts about tales from Tennessee and beyond. Be sure to also check out the section of the blog devoted to Moore Historical Consulting.