Stone, James A., Sr.
(born: 1829 - died: October 29, 1862)James A. Stone, Sr. was a fugitive enslaved man from Kentucky who had settled in Lorain, OH. He is listed in the 1850 U.S. Federal Census with no indication of race. Stone lived with African Americans Sarah Baker from Vermont and Godfrey Gaskins, who was also from Kentucky. In the 1860 Census, Stone is married and has several children. There is no indication of race for the entire family.
James Stone would pass for white and join the Union Army. He fought as a soldier in Kentucky, was injured, and soon after died. After his death, it was revealed that Stone was African American.
Stone is recognized as the first African American Union soldier; he had enlisted two years before African Americans were allowed to join the Union Army. According to his U.S. Civil War record, Stone enlisted on August 23, 1861 in the Ohio 1st LA Battery E Light Artillery Battery.
Stone was mustered out on his death date: October 29, 1862; he died at the General Hospital in Nashville, TN and is buried in the Nashville National Cemetery in South Madison, Section B Site 6657 [source: National Cemetery Administration, U.S. Veterans Gravesites].
James Stone's wife and children were listed as Mulattoes in the 1880 U.S. Federal Census. Sources: Black Studies Center - Timeline; The Civil War Month by Month: August 23 1861 by the Gaston-Lincoln Regional Library; and The Black Book by M. A. Harris, p. 159.