Title: African American soldiers' pension certificate ledger, 1889-1891

Identifier: 0323-b2b-fc   (https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/21076)

Description: Handwritten ledger containing pension award certificates from the New Bern, N.C. area, 1889-1891. The ledger contains pension award certificates for African American soldiers who served in the Union forces during the Civil War. Most applicants had lived in Craven and surrounding counties prior to the Civil War and fled to Union-occupied New Bern after it fell to Union forces in 1862. They subsequently enlisted in the U.S. Army or Navy and served in a variety of locations during the remainder of the war. This ledger is part of the Frederick C. Douglass papers. Douglass was a black lawyer, minister, and teacher, in New Bern, N.C., who handled pension applications for African Americans who served in the Union Army and Navy during the Civil War.