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A notable group of Nances in the Union forces during the Civil War

Here is a list of soldiers with the surname NANCE that served with the Union in the Civil War.
There is something notable about this particular group of soldiers. Can you guess what it is?
A hint: many of these Union soldiers came from states in the South . . .

                   Rank     Rank      
Name               In       Out       Unit
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Nance, Alfred      Pvt	    Pvt       Co.D, 1st Battery  Artillery
Nance, Archibald   Pvt	    Pvt       Co.E, 60th Reg.    Infantry
Nance, Byron 	   Pvt      Pvt       Co.E, 23rd Reg.    Infantry
Nance, Byron 	   Pvt      Pvt       Co.K, 27th Reg.    Infantry
Nance, Charles 	   Pvt      Pvt       Co.K, 27th Reg.    Infantry
Nance, Daniel 	   Pvt      Pvt       Co.H, 1st Battery  Artillery
Nance, Edward 	   2d Sgt   Pvt       Co.H, 100th Reg.   Infantry
Nance, Edward 	   Pvt	    Pvt       Co.D, 1st Battery  Artillery
Nance, George 	   Pvt 	    Pvt       Co.G, 12th Battery Artillery
Nance, George 	   Pvt	    Pvt       Co.E, 12th Reg.    Infantry
Nance, George 	   Pvt 	    Pvt       Co.I, 18th Reg.    Infantry
Nance, Green 	   Pvt	    Pvt       Co.H, 111th Reg.   Infantry
Nance, Harvey 	   Pvt	    Pvt       Co.B, 55th Reg.    Infantry
Nance, Henry 	   Pvt	    Pvt       Co.K, 100th Reg.   Infantry
Nance, Henry 	   Pvt	    Pvt       Co.D, 9th Battery  Artillery
Nance, Jackson 	   Pvt	    Pvt       Co.A, 48th Reg.    Infantry
Nance, James 	   Pvt	    Pvt       Co.C, 17th Reg.    Infantry
Nance, Jesse 	   Pvt	    Pvt       Co.C, 125th Reg.   Infantry
Nance, John 	   Pvt	    Pvt       Co.B, 101st Reg.   Infantry
Nance, John 	   Pvt	    Pvt       Co.C, 119th Reg.   Infantry
Nance, John 	   Pvt	    Pvt       Co.E, 1st Battery  Artillery
Nance, Leftridge   Pvt	    Pvt       Co.I, 119th Reg.   Infantry
Nance, Lewis 	   Pvt	    Pvt       Co.D, 119th Reg.   Infantry
Nance, Lewis 	   Pvt	    Pvt       Co.B, 67th Reg.    Infantry
Nance, Milton 	   Pvt	    Pvt       Co.I, 67th Reg.    Infantry
Nance, Richard 	   Pvt	    Pvt       Co.C, 1st Battery  Artillery
Nance, Richard 	   Musician  -        Co.C, 17th Reg.    Infantry
Nance, Simon 	   Pvt	     -        Co.B, 4th Reg.     Cavalry
Nance, Sterling    Pvt	    Corp.     Co.E, 1st Battery  Artillery  
Nance, Webster 	   1st Lt.  Capt.     Co.B, 15th Reg.    Infantry
Nance, William 	   Pvt	    Pvt       Co.B, 67th Reg.    Infantry
Nance, William H.  Pvt 	    Pvt       Co.H, 111th Reg.   Infantry

Can't figure out what these folks had in common? Here's the ANSWER.

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What's notable about those Nance soldiers ?


They all served in the U. S. Colored Regiments.


The Colored Troops were composed of African-Americans, both free Negroes of the north and freed slaves from the south. They were commanded by white officers. Thus, in the group of Nances listed above, most were probably African-Americans, while Webster Nance, who entered with a rank of 1st Lieutenenant and left with the rank of Captain, was probably a white officer.

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The U. S. Colored Troops

"The Emancipation Proclamation opened the door full-fledged for Blacks to participate in the Civil War. On May 1, 1863, the War Department created the Bureau of Colored Troops in order to handle the recruitment and organization of all black regiments. These units were known as the United States Colored Troops, and all units were commanded by white officers. The widespread knowledge about these all black units of the Civil War came about recently with the popularity of the movie, "GLORY", starring Denzel Washington. Based upon the triumphs and defeats of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, a historical moment was captured in the lives of some unknown American Freedom Fighters. Twenty-four black soldiers were awarded the meritorious Congressional Medals of Honor, and over 200,000 African-Americans served in the U. S. armed forces during the Civil War. 620,000 Americans died in this war. Over 38,000 Blacks died."

The text quoted above is from an article on African-American soldiers in the Civil War, part of a series written by Melvin R. Sylvester to accompany an exhibit in honor of Black History Month in the B.Davis Schwartz Memorial Library at the C. W. Post Campus of Long Island University, Februrary, 1995, and maintained at the website of Long Island University - C.W. Post Campus

Other good articles on the Colored Troops serving in the Civil War:

History of African-Americans in the Civil War, a website maintained by the National Park Service

United State Colored Troops....A Brief History, by Bennie J. McRae, Jr. -- part of the website maintained by Lest We Forget Publications ("Researching, publishing, and disseminating historical and current documents that focus on the history and culture of African-Americans and other groups, their relationships, interactions, and contributions to the development and growth of this country").

(The information on Nances in the U. S. Colored Regiments was obtained by searching for the name "Nance" in the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System Name Search. This database includes information about the soldiers and sailors who served the Union in the Colored Regiments).

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