Who was the first black man to die in the Civil War?

Answer 1

The answer is twofold. First, a soldier directly involved in hostilites died, though primarily by what could (and to me should) be called an accident, on the day of the firing on Fort Sumter. Here's an account. "At 4:30 on the morning of April 12th, 1861 the batteries surrounding the harbor opened fire on Fort Sumter. The bombardment lasted 33 hours with the Confederates firing 4,000 rounds and the fort answering with 1,000, before Anderson surrendered the fort, knowing the situation was hopeless. There were no deaths from the bombardment, but as the Union troops fired a last volley (actually a fifty gun salute to the colors before they were lowered) a keg of powder was ignited by a spark and the explosion killed Private Daniel Hough, the first American to be killed [or rather the first to die as no one literally and purposefully killed him] in the war." Through a google search you can easiliy confirm this information. Secondly, and the true answer IMO, is Luther C. Ladd, a Massachusetts Volunteer killed at Baltimore, April 19, 1861. Here is an account of the Massacre and below that about Mr. Ladd: Dubbed "The Massacre at Baltimore" by Southerners, the Baltimore riots unfolded just outside the current-day museum's doors on President Street and along nearby Pratt Street, but actually began brewing the day before as angry crowds heckled Union troops marching elsewhere in town. By the time the Sixth Massachusetts Volunteer Militia Regiment arrived at President Street Station on April 19, the troops were well aware that an angry public was waiting. What the troops probably didn't expect was just how angry the crowd would get. "Their orders were to ignore taunts and sticks and stones," says O'Neil. But the Southern sympathizers were armed with a lot more, dropping sand, bricks and even an anchor across the train tracks. They managed to trap 200 soldiers at President Street Station, leaving them no choice but to set out on foot. As the troops made their way toward the next station, the mob attacked, killing four soldiers. While the rest of the Sixth Massachusetts made its way out of town, the mob quickly turned its attention back to President Street Station, attacking the unarmed and out-of-uniform Washington Brigade, which had just arrived from Pennsylvania. "Finally, to make things even more interesting, from present day Little Italy there comes a third group of men-mostly pro-Union Irish and German immigrants- and they start attacking the secessionist rioters," O'Neil says. "They're all in civilian clothing, and no one knows who is who." In the end, at least five soldiers from the Washington Brigade and 11 civilians died in the melee, in addition to the four soldiers killed earlier." You can confirm this at http://aaaworld.com/pages/archive/JA02baltcivilwar.html As far as identifying the first of these four soldiers to die, it only seems to be found only in the June 1, 1861 Harper's Weekly where it states that he was "The First Victim of the War". The obituary goes on to say, "Mr. Ladd was murdered by the rowdies of Baltimore, on his passage through that city on April 19, 1864". The piece quotes Mr. Ladd as saying, "I shall go for my stars and my stripes any way", whatever that means exactly. You can confirm this information as well as see a picture of Luther C. Ladd at this address- http://www.sonofthesouth.net/singles/h1861p341.htm Though the page is copyrighted, the seller would very much like as many people as possible to view this page until the original print he is selling is sold. I hope this is of interest. On Feb. 12, 1861 Noble Leslie Devotie was boarding a steamer in Fort Morgan, Alabama when he slipped and fell in the water. 3 days later his body washed up on shore. His was the first recorded death that was associated with the Civil War. Even though Feb. 12 was prior to the first battle of the war, this death is still attributable. He was an enlisted chaplain with bad footing. He died neither as a result of the opposing side, nor during a battle, but only by accident. Only Sigma Alpha Epsilon wishes him to carry this epitaph. It is not attributable. If two months before Operation Iraqi Freedom, a chaplain fell boarding a troop ship & died, would he have been the first death of OIF, absolutely not. He did not die in enemy territory, under enemy fire, or during the war. If you call the civil war anything before it was declared there are many instances of soldier's deaths that can be pointed to before Fort Sumpter. I am certain that many soldiers died of accidents and sicknesses beforehand.

The first battle death has been generally recognized as Private Henry Wyatt of the 1st North Carolina, at the Battle of Big Bethel (Bethel Church) on June 10, 1861.

Answer 2

depends a lot on what you mean by "died in the civil war" there is really no way you are going to get a real answer

Answer 3

That's the kind of information that could never be reliably documented.

It's like the old veterans who used to get interviewed in the 1950's - many of them fake.

Answer 4

some man named soloman