NEW BERN, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina has dedicated a historical marker in New Bern to the 1st N.C. Colored Volunteers, a unit of former slaves who fought for the Union.
The Sun Journal of New Bern reports about 125 people watched the United States Colored Troop Re-enactors present the colors at Saturday’s ceremony.
The highway marker is on the grounds of the historic New Bern Academy, where the 1st NC Colored Volunteers had a farewell ceremony. The unit was later renamed the 35th U.S. Colored Troops.
A second highway marker in Wilmington honors the participation of the troops in the battle to capture Fort Fisher in 1865.
Mike Hill of the N.C. Office of Archives and History says about 5,000 former slaves from North Carolina fought with the U.S. Colored Troops.