Bradford Carter (65th USCT)

Bradford Carter was born in Albemarle County, Virginia, around 1828. His owner was John Coles Carter, who migrated from Virginia to Missouri in 1852 and owned 126 slaves in Pike and Lincoln Counties by 1860. Bradford and the other slaves grew tobacco, wheat, and corn.

Bradford Carter enlisted in the 65th USCT Infantry Regiment on February 11, 1864, at Benton Barracks, Missouri. At the time of his enlistment, he was 36 years old, and stood 5 feet, 1 inch tall, with black hair, eyes, and complexion. His owner, John Coles Carter, later explained in a postwar claim that he could not produce records of enlistment for his former slaves because they had fled to Union lines. He claimed that they enlisted “away from home and without the knowledge of this applicant.”  Bradford Carter mustered into Company A of the 65th USCT on February 25 and received a promotion to corporal the same day. Carter’s regiment was formally organized on March 11 and served in the Department of Missouri. Shortly thereafter, however, the regiment was reassigned and transferred to the District of Morganza, Louisiana in the Department of the Gulf. Bradford Carter performed garrison duty at Morganza until he contracted an unknown disease. He was admitted to the Regimental Hospital in Morganza but died shortly thereafter from an unspecified disease on September 26, 1864.

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DATABASE CONTENT
Name:Carter, Bradford
Alternative names:
Roles:
  • Soldier
Gender:M
Race:Black
Regiment/Ship:
RegimentCompany
65th Regiment Infantry U.S. Colored Troops A
Branch of service:Army
Enlistment/Muster:
TypeDatePlaceAccepted/RejectedAgeStatusReason
Enlistment1864-02-11Benton Barracks St. Louis, MOaccepted36Slave
Muster In1864-02-25Benton Barracks St. Louis, MO
Muster Out1864-09-26Regimental Hospital Morganza, LADeath
Residence at enlistment:Clarksville, MO
Rank In:Corporal
Rank Out:Corporal
Highest rank achieved:Corporal
Birth date:1828
Birth date certainty:About
Birth place:Albemarle County, VA
Death date:1864-09-26
Death place:Regimental Hospital Morganza, LA
Causes of death:disease: unknown
Occupations:Farmer
Relationships:
Person 1Relation TypePerson 2
Carter, Sr., John Colesowner ofCarter, Bradford
SOURCES

Compiled Service Records for Bradford Carter, RG94, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Washington, D.C.; Pension Records for Bradford Carter, RG15, NARA, Washington, D.C.; Elizabeth Varon, "From Carter's Mountain to Morganza Bend," Parts 1-3 (http://naucenter.as.virginia.edu/blog-page/406); Frederick A. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, vol. 3 (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Publishing Company, 1908); B. Noland Carter II, A Goodly Heritage: A History of the Carter Family in Virginia, vol. I (2003).