Very little is known about Carson Miller’s early life before his enlistment in the United States Army. Carson was born in 1834. On May 30th, 1864, he joined the United States Army, enlisting in Company L of the 45th Regiment of the United States Colored Troops. After being reorganized into Company H, Miller became a member of the Color Guard, assigned to protect the regiment’s Flag. Carson was injured attempting to protect the flag, not from Confederate Soldiers, but strong winds.
Private Abraham Parker was born around 1843 in Gilford, Franklin Co., Pa to Daniel and Rosanna Parker.1 There is little known about Parker before the war. He was a laborer and had a couple of criminal convictions. In 1858, in Com vs. Allen Whiten and Abraham Parker, Parker was found guilty of larceny and sentenced to 6 months in prison.2 He was again sentenced to 3 months imprisonment and fined for larceny in Com. vs.
Robert Alfred Parker, son of George and Elizabeth Andrews Parker, was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania in 1846. He and his family first lived in Franklin County, Carlisle, Pennsylvania; in 1860, he and his family moved to Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.1 According to the "U.S.
a. Veteran’s Register Carlisle pp. 34-40 Union Colored Cemetery Carlisle Section B, Grave 61
Army Infantry Co. H, 25th Regt. 1/29/1864 to 12/6/1865
b. Bates, Vol. V, p. 1042
c. PA State Archive Muster Roll 25th, Co. H, Folder 1, #62 on roll (name “William” H.)
d. Evening Sentinel, Roll 1-45, Obituary 7/13/1907
Henry Spradley served in the 24th United States Colored Regiment with Company G from March 8, 1865 to December 1, 1865.
According to the “U.S. Find a Grave Index, 1600s to Current for Richard Turner,” Turner was born in 1840 in Virginia.1 However, legal documents filed on his behalf through his life, however, imply birth years of a range from 1830 to 1840. Turner himself gives his birthplace as Woodstock; Shenandoah Valley, VA but census records for Shenandoah County are not available for either 1830 or 1840 so his age is unknown.2 This is due to speculation that Turner was likely a slave born in Virginia but sold south to a large and prosperous plantation in Louisiana.
According to the “U.S. Find a Grave Index, 1600s to Current for James H. Tyson,” Tyson was born in 1821 in Carroll County, Maryland[1]. While Tyson does not appear in any official capacity until 1864, he made his way to Carlisle, Cumberland County, PA sometime before 1864. In Carlisle, Tyson enlisted as a private in the 32nd USCT, Company F on February 25, 1864[2]. Upon his enlistment, Tyson was listed as a forty-three-year-old laborer who stood at five feet two inches[3].
Henry Ward was born in Clarke County Virginia on October 11, 1842. Not much is known about his early life, but his obituary states that he was enslaved. On January 20th, 1864, Ward enlisted into Company E of the 25th regiment of the USCT in Carlisle, PA