"Color Guard"

By Ric Cottom ,

Published May 23, 2024 at 3:39 PM EDT

Sergeant Tom Strawn of Company B, 3rd U.S. Colored Troops Heavy Artillery Regiment, with revolver in front of painted backdrop showing balustrade and landscape credit: LOC/Flickr/Creative Commons

In the summer of 1863, Colonel William Birney began recruiting black men to fight in a newly formed regiment, the 4th United States Colored Infantry. Many men, both free and slave, were keen to sign up and fight for the Union.

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Ric Cottom

Ric Cottom came to Baltimore more than four decades ago and never left. Formerly the editor and publisher at the Maryland Historical Society, he now runs the Chesapeake Book Company, publishing Chesapeake regional history, biography, and environmental studies.

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Lisa Morgan

Lisa Morgan covered the local arts community as co-creator and host of WYPR’s award-winning program The Signal from 2004 to 2015. She has created and produced many programs for WYPR, including news stories, features, commentaries, and audio documentaries. She taught audio production at Goucher College and has done voice-over work for a variety of clients. The Weekly Reader is her latest project.

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