Benjamin F. Trail Family Correspondence

Benjamin F. Trail, an African American, served as a sergeant major in the 28th Regiment of United States Colored Troops (Infantry), which was organized at Indianapolis, Indiana: December 24, 1863, through March 31, 1864. He served in Company C. The collection consists of several letters of Benjamin F. Trail, written shortly after his muster-in date: December 29, 1863, while stationed at Camp Fremont, Indiana (January-April 1864). Three other men named Trail, all plausibly brothers or relatives, also enlisted in the same regiment: David, James, and William Trail. The collection contains correspondence among the Trail brothers: Benjamin, David, William, and Barzilla; it does not contain letters to or from James Trail.

Both Benjamin F. Trail and James Trail were in Company C of the 28th Regiment of U. S. Colored Troops. Benjamin F. Trail was killed in battle on July 30, 1864, during the Union siege of Petersburg, on the date of the bloody battle of the "crater" near Petersburg, Virginia. The regiment sustained severe losses, counting more than half its number either killed or wounded during the active engagement. James Trail died at Corpus Christi, Texas, at the end of the War: September 1865. William Trail, Company I, mustered in from Wayne County, Indiana (Richmond), and lived past the years spanning the Civil War. He was mustered in February 20, 1865, and mustered out November 8, 1865.

David Trail is listed in the Report gf the Adjutant General of the State of Indiana (1867) as an unassigned recruit of the 28 Regiment, from Henry County, Indiana: the muster-in date being October 17, 1864. There is another listing for a David Trail, perhaps the same person, in the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System [available at http://www.itd.nps.gov/cgi-bin/dualz.test] that connects him with the 14th Regiment of the U. S. Colored Troops, as a private. In March 1866, David Trail received correspondence from Sergeant Preston Malone, who sewed with the 14m Regiment. Previous correspondence of David Trail, composed in Michigan (Oct. 24, 1864?), to Mr. Barzilla Trail, of Henry County, Indiana, states that he "like[s] Kansas much better than I do Michigan."

The 28"’ Regiment, U. S. Colored Troops was organized at Indianapolis, Indiana, December 24, 1863 through March 31, 1864. They were recruited in Indiana as a part of the quota of the State: altogether six companies were organized in Indianapolis and turned over to the United States as a battalion of the 28'" Regiment, U. S. Colored Infantry, with Captain Charles S. Russell of the 11th U. S. Infantry appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the battalion. Their tour of duty involved leaving for Washington, D. C. on April 24, 1864, and proceeding to a camp of instruction at Alexandria, Virginia, where they underwent a series of drills preparatory to entering upon active field service. They stayed in Alexandria until June 1864, then embarking for White House, Virginia, and while there participated in an engagement with the enemy on June 21. The battalion accompanied Sheridan's Cavalry on its excursion through the Chickahominy swamps, before arriving at Prince George's Court House. During this campaign, the battalion sustained severe losses from frequent skirmishes with the enemy. Next began the siege of Richmond and Petersburg. In the campaign against Petersburg, during the summer and fall of 1864, the battalion lost nearly half of its number in killed and wounded in the bloody battle of the "Crater." At City Point, Virginia and St. Mary's, Maryland they were in charge of prisoners (April 6-May 12, 1865). They moved to City Point, Virginia and embarked to Brazos Santiago, Texas (June 10-July 1, 1865). The regiment was on duty at Brazos Santiago and Corpus Christi, Texas until November 1865: they were mustered out of the U. S. Army on November 8, 1865. On the return to Indianapolis, the regiment proceeded to New Orleans, and then up the Mississippi to Cairo, Illinois. A public reception was held in their honor in Indianapolis, January 8, 1866. Sergeant Malone, an African American, of the 14th Regiment, U. S. Colored Troops (Infantry), Company A, wrote two letters, contained in the collection, to David Trail. Both letters were written from Chattanooga, Tennessee (March 1866). He asks his friend to write to him when he gets home, and tells him he expects "to live at Gallatin, Tennessee."

The 14th Regiment, U. S. Colored Troops (Infantry) was organized at Gallatin, Tennessee, November 16, 1863, to January 8, 1864. They were attached to the post of Gallatin, Tennessee, to January 1864, followed by garrison duty at Chattanooga, Tennessee, until November 1864. They were unattached, District of the Etowah, Dept. of the Cumberland, to December 1864. Followed by attachment to the 18' Colored Brigade, District of the Etowah, to May 1865, and the District of East Tennessee, to August 1865, followed by service at Greenville and in the Dept. of the Tennessee until March 1866. The unit was mustered out of service on March 26, 1866.

Sources:

"Indiana's 28'" Regiment: Black Soldiers for the Union." The Indiana Historian (Feb. 1994). Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System Name Search. [Available at http://www.itd.nps.gov/cgi- bin/dualz.test].

Report of the Adjutant General of the State of Indiana. Indianapolis: [State Printing Office], 1867.