African American Veterans from Kent County

Bill Leary • November 8, 2022

The African American community of Kent County has contributed far more than its fair share to the military requirements of a nation that has rarely acknowledged those contributions. More than 1,700 African American men and women from Kent County have served in the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. This record of service began during the American Revolution and continues today.

By joining the armed forces, African American men and women believed they could both better their own lives and make their country truer to its best promises. That happened to a great extent during the Civil War and to some extent during more recent decades following full integration of the armed forces.

For most of American history, however, African Americans in the military have suffered the same discrimination they experienced in civilian life. After a brief experiment with integrated units during the Revolutionary War, it was another 175 years before Black men served in integrated units — during the Korean War. For the most part, those segregated units were assigned the most menial tasks, such as ditch-digging, rather than combat duty, and until World War II, they were commanded almost exclusively by white officers.

The story of Black men from Kent County who served in the Civil War is truly a remarkable and inspiring saga. Five hundred and sixty-seven Black men who were born or lived in Kent County fought in the Union Army and another 68 served in the U.S. Navy. (Fifty-three of these 635 men apparently did not live in Kent County until after the war.) According to the 1860 Census, the number of free African Americans in Kent County totaled 3,411, and the number of enslaved was 2,509. Of that population, 1,325 men were aged 18-45 (565 enslaved and 760 free) and therefore eligible for military service. This means that an impressive 44 percent of the eligible Black men in Kent County (582 of 1325) did serve, compared with a 28 percent rate of service throughout the state of Maryland.

African American soldiers from Kent County served in 35 different regiments of the United States Colored Infantry (USCI), but more than half enlisted in three regiments recruited on the Eastern Shore: the 7th USCI (158), the 19th USCI (88) and the 30th USCI (85). Twenty-four soldiers were killed in action or died later of combat wounds, including nine at the Crater and three at the battle of Fort Gilmer. Fifty-four soldiers were wounded in action but recovered. Almost 100 troops died during the war of a wide variety of diseases — especially pneumonia, cholera, and chronic diarrhea — or unspecified causes. Four prisoners of war died in Confederate prisons.

At least 254 of Kent County’s African American troops were enslaved when they enlisted, which surely required considerable courage. While they could reasonably expect manumission in exchange for military service, there were no guarantees. In addition, they were leaving their families behind to an unknown fate. Of the 582 African Americans who eventually enlisted, only about 175 returned to Kent County after the war. About 130 had died during the war, which means that more than half (about 300) of the African Americans from Kent County who fought in the war appear to have exercised their newly won freedom by starting a new life somewhere outside Kent County.

African Americans of Kent County enlisted in significant numbers to fight in every major war of the 20th century, despite discriminatory treatment while in the service and after they returned home. Two hundred and thirty-three African American men from Kent County served during World War I, including 143 who served with the American Expeditionary Force in France. Eleven men served in the 371st Infantry Regiment, which received the French Legion of Honor and Croix de Guerre for heroism in combat, including Waymon Parker of Chestertown, the only African American from Kent County killed in action during the war. The Black American Legion members in Kent County later named the Parker-White post partly in Parker’s memory.

More than 350 African Americans from Kent County enlisted in World War II, or about 28% of the county’s total, including 14 who joined the Navy and two in the Army Air Corps. More than 460 African Americans from Kent County served in all branches of the military following World War II. Over 90 African Americans from Kent County served during the Korean War, including Leon Donald Hamilton, the county’s first casualty of the war. Kent County sent almost 100 African American men and women into service during the Vietnam War, including Virgil Henry Wilson, Jr., the son and grandson of veterans, and Raymond Lester Elliott, who were killed in action.

Legacy Day 2022, the ninth annual edition of a festival that celebrates the rich cultural heritage of African Americans in Kent County, honored these 1,700 veterans from August 19-21 with an exhibit, a booklet, and a reception at the Garfield Theater. At the reception, several veterans spoke proudly of their service. Eleanor (“Rellie”) Ringgold, one of 32 African American women from Kent County who served, remembered her excitement when she enlisted in the Army in 1972. Jackie Johnson recalled a career that took him from the White House to Afghanistan. Marchaund Tiller’s career in the Air Force prepared him for the challenges he would face in life. Larry Wilson, part of a family that has sent at least 15 young men into the military, talked about how 20 years in the Navy changed his life in a positive way.

Beginning on Veteran’s Day 2022, the exhibit on African American veterans from Kent County will be displayed at Sumner Hall, 206 South Queen St. in Chestertown. The Sumner Hall Veterans Project continues to collect information on Kent County’s African American veterans, and the database of those honored can be searched online at https://www.sumnerhall.org/vets.

Bill Leary, a retired historian and archivist, is on the board of directors of Sumner Hall. He has worked on Legacy Day exhibits since 2014, shortly after retiring to Chestertown.

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