More than 178,000 free blacks and freedmen served in the United States Colored Troops (USCT) during the Civil War, comprising one-tenth of all Union troops by the war’s end. Their service contributed greatly to the Union’s war efforts and marked a turning point in the war, providing a much-needed boost in the Union ranks. During the war, 2,751 soldiers of the United States Colored Troops lost their lives in combat. More than 68,000 more died in the service from disease other causes 1.
In South Carolina alone, where Union troops occupied Port Royal beginning in November of 1861, more than 5,000 men served in the USCT in six regiments organized there (21st, 33rd, 103rd, 104th and 128th USCT).
Did your ancestor serve in the United States Colored Troops (USCT)? This post will take you step-by-step through how to find out.
Did your ancestor serve in the United States Colored Troops (USCT)? This post will take you step-by-step through how to find out. If your ancestor did serve, this opens a world of new records for discovering your ancestor’s story.
On May 22, 1863, the War Department issued General Order No. 143 authorizing the recruitment of African Americans into the armed forces. African American regiments created under this order were known as United States Colored Troops, or USCT. United States Colored Troops military units included cavalry, artillery and infantry. The majority of USCT veterans served in the infantry 2.

Recruiting Broadside for United States Colored Troops, from Freeman, Elsie, Wynell Burroughs Schamel, and Jean West. “The Fight for Equal Rights: A Recruiting Poster for Black Soldiers in the Civil War.” Social Education 56, 2 (February 1992): 118-120. [Revised and updated in 1999 by Budge Weidman.]
Civil War Soldier and Sailors System Database
The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System hosted by the National Park Service is a free searchable database of the names of those who served in Union or Confederate forces during the Civil War. Here you can search to see if your ancestor served in the United States Colored Troops (USCT) or the US Navy during the war. Search forms for soldiers and sailors are separate, so be sure to search both for your ancestor’s name.
USCT Service Records
If you find your ancestor listed in the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System database, the next step is to gather his military service record. To find your ancestor’s Civil War service record, you can search United States Civil War Service Records of Union Colored Troops, 1863-1865, a free database on FamilySearch.org.
Did Your Ancestor Apply for a Military Pension? Thank your Lucky Stars If So.
If your ancestor applied for a military pension, his pension record may contain information that will open many doors for your research. Civil War pension files are among the richest records that document formerly enslaved ancestors, and often contain information that can be found nowhere else. In order to establish their eligibility for a pension for an illness or injury sustained while serving in the United States Colored Troops, veterans had to prove many details concerning their service, the nature of their illness or injury, the identity of their dependents, and more. Because events in USCT veterans’ lives before the Civil War were seldom recorded in the documentary record, veterans had to go to great lengths to prove their identity, their dates of marriage, names and ages of children, and other biographical details that had to be documented in order for them to draw a military pension. This frequently meant gathering the testimony of others who witnessed their marriage, the death of a spouse, the births of their children or other life events. Often those who testified about such events were enslaved on the same plantation as the soldier. Veterans often relied upon the testimony of others who served in the same regiment and company to help them prove their identity and service. The testimony of supporting witnesses revealed much about the military veteran applying for a pension. Along the way, witnesses also revealed a lot about their own lives and families. If there is a USCT pension file for your ancestor who served, it may be filled with rich information about your ancestor’s life before, during and after the war. To read more about the rich details you may find in a USCT pension file, please see our article USCT Pension Files: A Rich Resource for African American Genealogy by Bernice Bennett.If there is a USCT pension file for your ancestor, it may be filled with rich information about your ancestor’s life before, during and after the war, including the name of your ancestor’s slaveholder, and the plantation where he was enslaved.
To see if your ancestor applied for a military pension for service in the USCT, you can search United States General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, a free database on FamilySearch.
If you find an entry in the pension file index for your ancestor’s name, first verify that the search result is for your ancestor – that is, it lists the company and regiment your ancestor served in. Once you have verified that the entry is for your ancestor, you will be able to view and download the USCT pension file index card linked to the search result. This is the card you will need to order your ancestor’s pension file from the National Archives.


USCT Pension File Index Card for Bram Strobert, 33rd United States Colored Troops.
United States General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, Database Online at FamilySearch.org.
Ordering Your Ancestor’s USCT Pension File
Once you have downloaded the USCT pension file index card for your ancestor, you can order the USCT pension file through the National Archives website here.

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