Enoch Freeman, Company B. 27th U.S. Colored Troops

 

The service of African American Civil War soldiers is often overlooked and difficult to research. However, the Clyde Library and Hayes Presidential Library and Museums have documented those known to them on their websites and honored their service at public ceremonies. Below is the story of another African American Civil soldier in nearby Ottawa County, Ohio.

Enoch Freeman was 18 years old when he enlisted at Russia Twp., Lorain County, Ohio in Company B of the 27^th US Colored Troops for three years. The 27th was the second black regiment organized in Ohio. The first African Americans to join the Union army from Ohio were those who enlisted to fill out the ranks of the 54th Massachusetts. (Edward Leonard of Sandusky County was one of those.) 

The pay for Union colored troops was discriminatory; African Americans could make more as day laborers than as  soldiers. Despite that, more than 3,000 black Ohioans enlisted in regiments outside the state before the 27th began recruiting.

Freeman mustered in at Camp Delaware Ohio on February 8, 1864. At that time, only 8 of the necessary 35 officers were present. (Only whites could serve as officers.)  Like all new recruits, Freeman was subjected to the contagious diseases that spread like wildfire among troops. He soon fell sick at Annapolis, Maryland. 

He returned to duty in May as the regiment moved out to the Wilderness and Spotsylvania. Their duty was to guard the supply trains against cavalry attacks. In early June, the 27th with other regiments, freed more than 500 slaves. According to Kelly D. Mezurek, author of  "For Their Own Cause," (a history of the 27th), the regiment finally was ordered to the front at Petersburg.  

It was at this time that Freeman fell sick at City Point, Virginia and was sent to the General Hospital. Freeman did not return to his regiment until September 1864. He was present at Hatcher's Run, on the Bermuda front, the expeditions to Fort Fisher, North Carolina and its subsequent bombardment, assault, and capture. Nine months later, he was promoted to corporal.  The following September, Corporal Freeman was mustered out at Smithville, North Carolina. 

Following Corporal Freeman's service, he returned to Ohio and worked as a laborer in Clay Twp. Ottawa County. On August 25, 1890, Enoch Freeman received a pension (#682971) for his Civil War service with the 27th.  He died June 25, 1913 and is buried in Clay Twp. Cemetery in Ottawa County, Ohio.