Colored Troop Regiments from Kentucky, U.S. Civil War

After the signing of the Second Confiscation and Militia Act and the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, African American men were allowed to enlist in the Union Army. The United States Colored Troops were all African American units commanded by whites.

In Kentucky, there were 23 volunteer regiments formed between 1863 and 1865, with a total of 23,703 soldiers. Kentucky provided 13% of the African American soldiers who enlisted in the Union Army, second only to the state of Louisiana.

Below are the regiment names, locations, and dates.

For more information see "Colored Regiments from Kentucky," The National Tribune (Washington, D.C.), 9/29/1904, p. 6; A History of Blacks in Kentucky, by M. B. Lucas; Campaigns of the Civil War, Supplementary Volume: Statistical Record of the Armies of the United States, vol. 13, by F. Phisterer; the HistoryNet website African Americans in the Civil War; The Forgotten Kentucky Regiments: United States Colored Troops from Kentucky, a RootsWeb site. See the "U.S., Colored Troops Military Service Records, 1863-1865" and other military service records in Ancestry for names and additonal information.

H. A. = heavy artillery