HR 233

Commending the 23rd Regiment United States Colored Troops.
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 9, 2026
WHEREAS, the 23rd Regiment United States Colored Troops, a regiment in the Union Army composed of Black enlisted infantry, played an important role in demonstrating that Black Americans were willing and able to face Confederate troops in combat during the Civil War; and
WHEREAS, the 23rd United States Colored Troops (USCT), also known as the 23rd United States Colored Infantry, was recruited in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, from November 1863 to June 1864 and organized at Camp Casey in Arlington; and
WHEREAS, on May 15, 1864, near the intersection of Catharpin Road and the Orange Plank Road in the Fredericksburg region, the 23rd USCT became the first Black regiment to engage in directed combat against General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia when it moved at the double quick to support the 2nd Ohio Cavalry Regiment and drove back Confederate forces under General Thomas Rosser; and
WHEREAS, Brigadier General Edward Ferrero reported that the 23rd USCT advanced in a line of battle and drove the enemy in perfect rout while protecting vital Union supply lines; and
WHEREAS, the 23rd USCT continued to serve with distinction in the Overland Campaign, the Battle of Petersburg, the Siege of Petersburg and Richmond, the Battle of the Crater, Weldon Railroad, Poplar Grove Church, Hatcher's Run, the Appomattox Campaign, and the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, 1865; and
WHEREAS, the 23rd USCT was assigned to the IX Corps and later to the XXV Corps of the Army of the James and served faithfully until the conclusion of the war, after which it performed duties in Virginia and Texas; and
WHEREAS, in 2010, Captain John Cummings III and Corporal Steward T. Henderson co-founded a reformed 23rd Regiment USCT in Spotsylvania County to preserve and promote the history and legacy of the regiment; and
WHEREAS, the reformed 23rd USCT advances public understanding of African American military service during the Civil War and honors the regiment's lasting contribution to freedom and democracy; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That the 23rd Regiment United States Colored Troops hereby be commended for its courage, service, and enduring contribution to the Commonwealth and the nation; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to representatives of the reformed 23rd Regiment United States Colored Troops as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for the regiment's impeccable record of service.