July 13, 2023 at 6:30 pm
Teresa Roane was born and raised in Richmond, VA. She earned her BA in History at Virginia Commonwealth University. She worked for 8 years at the Richmond Public Library followed by 15 years at the Valentine Museum’s Library. She was the archivist at the Museum of the Confederacy for 7.5 years. She has served on the boards of Friends of the Richmond Public Library, Alliance to Conserve Old Richmond Neighborhoods, and the Historic Richmond Foundation.
Teresa has researched the Black participant in the Confederate armies and has spoken at many venues to include several Civil War Round Tables. Teresa has completed exhaustive research with various resources to include the National Archives.
From our history of the Civil War, we have learned the first African American unit to serve in a combat role was the Union First Kansas Colored infantry. That unit fought the first battle for an African American unit at the Battle of Island Mound, in October of 1862. The first Federally recognized black unit was the 54th Massachusetts, organized in 1863. By 1864 approximately 180,000 Black soldiers were serving in the Union Armies, and 20,000 more in the Navy with deaths of approximately 40,000. Black soldiers served in the artillery, infantry, cavalry, teamsters, and scouts, as well as cooks, blacksmiths, and laborers, fulfilling all the responsibilities of any and all soldiers in any army.
However on the Confederate side, were there Blacks who served in the Confederate armies? If so, were they slave or were some free? What were the logistics assigned to the Black man? Were they assigned weapons, or the rolls of teamsters, cooks, musicians, etc.? Were these Blacks recognized by the Confederate government in any way? Of the 71,000 troops that moved with Lee into Pennsylvania, were there Blacks that moved with that army? Teresa will give us a very interesting and detailed program of the logistics of the Black man in the Confederate armies.
She received the Heritage Preservation Award from the SCV in 2012 and the Rebecca Jones Alford Bonnie Blue Medal from the North Carolina SCV in 2014. At the National SCV reunion, she received the Commander in Chief Ladies’ Appreciation medal. At their 2015 convention, UDC North Carolina Division bestowed the Jefferson Davis Gold Medal for excellence in history to Ms. Roane. She was honored with a Ladies’ Appreciation medal from the General Robert E. Lee SCV Camp. The National SCV bestowed the Dixie Defender award in July 2016. Teresa has given many presentations and workshops. She spends her free time reading, watching movies, and walking battlefields.
