The Emancipation Proclamation provided an opportunity for African Americans to be part of the armed service of the United States. With the door to enlistment open, African Americans, free and slave, poured into the Union Army. This compilation contains the names of 163 of these courageous soldiers born in the counties of Augusta, Bath, Highland and Rockbridge, along with a personal summary of each man's service. They represent a picture of the cross-section of the thousands of the thousands of African American soldiers that made up the USCT.(Bound soft cover book, 56 pages with introduction and index.)