There was one African American regiment from Michigan that fought in the Civil War. Their story is being told in a recently published book.
Maurice Imhoff is the co-founder of the Jackson County Michigan Historical Society. He has focused his research on sharing the stories of the 1600 soldiers who made up the 1st Michigan Colored Regiment.
Imhoff says the majority were escaped slaves who returned to the South to fight.
“These were young boys who were not just going to fight for the freedom of others. They were enlisting to go fight for their brothers, for their moms, their girlfriends, their best friends they grew up with who were still left in slavery.”
Imhoff will tell the story of the soldiers’ courage and resilience at a Black History Month author event hosted by the Ann Arbor District Library. It will be held Sunday, February 22nd at the downtown branch. It’s free and runs from 1-2 PM.
Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. Make your donation to WEMU today to keep your community NPR station thriving.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on X (Twitter)
Contact WEMU News at 734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
