Election Day 1864: Black Soldiers Vote on the Front Lines
Richmond, VA 23231
1864 was a year of decision, on battlefields and at ballot boxes.
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On September 29 and 30, the Army of the James captured New Market Heights and Fort Harrison, renaming it Fort Burnham. Fourteen African American soldiers of the United States Colored Troops, or USCTs, were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions in the assaults.
In 1863, Ohio passed a law specifically allowing absentee soldier voting. Among those soldiers were Black troops of the 5th United States Colored Troops (USCT), whose racial makeup made them eligible to vote in Ohio's elections. Thirty-nine days after capturing Fort Harrison, on November 8, 1864, they cast 194 votes for Abraham Lincoln. These are the first known Black soldier votes in Virginia, and likely the entire South.
At stake was a second term for President Abraham Lincoln, which would mean almost certain military victory for the United States in the Civil War, a revival of the 13th Amendment (voted down earlier in the year) and with it a permanent, nationwide end to slavery, and at least the beginning of a national conversation about possible Black citizenship in a reunited country.
Join us on Saturday, November 2 for a commemoration of the 160th anniversary of the memorable 1864 election day at Fort Harrison/Burnham - 8761 Battlefield Park Rd, Richmond, VA 23231
From 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., interactive historical election day activities for children and adults.
10am - Black Soldiers Guarding the Front Lines: A tour of Fort Harrison/ Fort Burnham and its role in the battles for Richmond by Ranger Bert Dunkerly
11am - 194: The 5th USCTs Vote at Fort Burnham - tour/talk by Ranger Mike Gorman
12pm - Corresponding with History: Interactive living history presentation, a conversation with “Thomas Morris Chester,” the only African American reporter for a Civil War daily newspaper, and his firsthand reporting of election day 1864.
1pm - Black Soldiers Guarding the Front Lines: A tour of Fort Harrison/ Fort Burnham and its role in the battles for Richmond by Ranger Bert Dunkerly
2pm - 194: The 5th USCTs Vote at Fort Burnham - tour/talk by Ranger Mike Gorman
3pm - Corresponding with History: Interactive living history presentation, a conversation with “Thomas Morris Chester,” the only African American reporter for a Civil War daily newspaper, and his firsthand reporting of election day 1864.