Title: African American soliders pension applications ledger, 1893-1894

Identifier: 0265-001-b1-i1   (https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/62787)

Description: Civil War ledger containing the claims of African American soldiers requesting compensation for wounds and injuries received or diseases contracted while serving 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. The ledger also contains family history and genealogical information concerning the marriages and births among the formerly enslaved. Claims for disability pensions were handled by Frederick C. Douglass, a black lawyer, minister, and teacher of New Bern, N.C., who handled pension applications for African Americans who served in the Union Army and Navy during the Civil War. An index of names in the ledger was prepared much later. Refer to finding aid for additional information on the arrangement of the index and using the item for research.