Possible Massacre Victims

It is unknown how many fell victim to atrocities. There also may have been a misunderstanding of the manner of death of some of the USCTs. If an armed soldier refuses to surrender and is killed, I don't believe that should be considered an atrocity. Additionally, if a surrendered prisoner decides to attempt escape and is killed while running away, that too, in my opinion, should not be considered an atrocity.

“Massacre at Plymouth” states on page 177 that, “All things considered, it seems reasonable to suppose that a maximum of about 40 black recruits, cooks, and sailors could have been victims of a massacre.”

I believe that number is far less, but I haven’t determined an exact number and have doubts it is even possible. There may be one or two possible atrocity victims among the Cooks and there is no proof of sailors involved in a massacre.

It is difficult to determine an accurate number of African American soldiers involved on April 20th, 1864 due to the large number of escapes during the battle and prior to the surrender. On April 19th, it is reported that Gen. Wessells was concerned for the welfare of the USCT and told them to leave if they desired. The ones who stayed bravely laid their lives on the line to fight for the freedom of their race.

There were three regiments who were recruiting at Plymouth; the 37th USCT (3rd NC Colored Volunteers), the 2nd U.S. Colored Cavalry and the 10th USCT. All three of these regiments were stationed in Virginia and not at Plymouth. As men were recruited, they were sent to Virginia to be mustered in.

Recruiting for the 37th USCT began in Nov 1863. The 37th had the majority of the recruits. At the time of the battle, most had already left for Norfolk, VA. Capt. Marvin, 37th USCT, states in the pension file of Private John Ward that "We had not been assigned to companies at that time, but the regiment was then called 3rd N.C. Colored Vols. I had about 40 recruits at Plymouth at the time of the siege and I took them into the fight at that time and place. Most of the forty were killed in that fight at least. I could only hear of fifteen surviving after the fight."

Recruiting for the 2nd U.S. Colored Cavalry began in Feb 1864. There are only five named soldiers from the 2nd USCC known to be at the battle.

The nineteen recruiters for the 10th USCT showed up less than a month before the battle and it is doubtful they had time to enlist any men into their regiment.

It certainly seems that the reported number of over 100 USCTs involved in the battle on April 20th was exaggerated.

Coming up with actual names of massacre victims is a challenge. Although my research continues, I have only been able to confirm and positively identify by name six African American soldiers who were killed during the battle, and three Colored Cooks, none of which are proven to be massacre victims. There are certainly unnamed recruits who were killed in battle, but that number and their manner of death is unknown. There are ten USCTs captured who survived the war with one dying in prison. There are three from the 10^th USCT that are so far unaccounted for and were more than likely killed. There were also reports of somewhere between 400 and 600 African American civilians “captured” who, more than likely, were returned to slavery.

It is unknown how many unassigned recruits for the USCT escaped during the battle and never rejoined their regiments. Its certainly possible they went into hiding after the battle due to being escaped slaves. There were several who were located hiding in the swamps and rescued by Union gunboats. How many more were never located?

Its pretty evident that a number of armed 2nd NC and USCTs ran to the Peacock Swamp prior to the official surrender. Many were probably killed for refusing to individually surrender. It's difficult to determine how many USCT soldiers were killed during the battle,  killed for refusing to surrender, killed while trying to escape after capture, and those that may have fell victim to atrocities. The fact that there were a number of USCTs who were captured and not killed clearly shows that not all uniformed blacks were killed as reported.

There does appear to be more evidence that 2nd NC soldiers were killed after the surrender. There was a definite search being made for Confederate deserters. This would be more of a firing squad situation rather than a massacre. It is a challenge to determine exactly what happened due to the lack of indisputable facts.

Despite not having names of victims or their manner of death, I do believe atrocities were committed by individual Confederates. However, the evidence shows that a “no quarter” command was never given by the officers as is evident by the number of survivors and their treatment.