Important 4pp letter, written in ink and postmarked New Orleans, April 29 1864. The letter was sent to Jacob Kreps of West Newton, Pennsylvania by his son Adam, a white officer in charge of troops in an all-black United States Colored Troops (USCT) regiment. Kreps, stationed at Port Hudson, writes his father to inform him of the latest comings and goings of USCT regiments, including excursions to Texas. He then informs his father about a terrible massacre of black soldiers at Fort Pillow:

“I suppose you have heard of the affair at Fort Pillow above Memphis. The Rebels Massacred every one connected with black regiments. There was between three and four hundred blacks. The Rebels were repulsed four of five times but the ammunition gave out and they could not protect themselves. The Rebels raised the black flag as soon as they scaled the fort (they did not treat the white troops in that way). I think if the government does not retaliate they had better disband all the negro troops for under what obligations are the men or we as officers if the government will not protect us when captured?”

Krebs, of course, is referencing the Fort Pillow Massacre, which occurred in Tennessee on April 12, 1864. Though most of the defeated Union garrison surrendered, and thus should have been taken as prisoners of war, some 300 black soldiers were murdered The Confederate refusal to treat these troops as traditional prisoners of war infuriated the North, and led to the Union’s refusal to participate in prisoner exchanges. It remains today one of the darkest hours of the entire Civil War.

For his part, Lt. Kreps served in three regiments, first mustering as private in Co. “F”, 15th PA Cavalry, 8/22/1864, then transferring with Lieutenant’s commission into Co. “A”, 67th Regt. U.S.C.T., 2/24/1864, then transferring again into Co. “E”, 92nd Regt. U.S.C.T., 7/12/1865, mustering out of service, 12/31/1865. He served exclusively in the Western Theater and with the U.S.C.T. regiments mostly in Louisiana.

Contemporary accounts of the Ft. Pillow massacre are scarce, finding accounts from soldiers with some connection to the massacre are scarcer still. As an officer in a USCT regiment, surrounded by regiments of African American soldiers at Port Hudson, Kreps had a unique account to share. The letter is in excellent condition and is accompanied by its original envelope.


[African-American History, Slave, Slavery, Abolition, Abolitionist, Emancipation Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, Union, Confederate, Document, Letter]