Arthur Clayton (14th USCT)

Arthur Clayton was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1846. On November 1, 1865, at the age of 18, he enlisted in the 14th USCT Infantry Regiment in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for a period of two years. At the time of his enlistment, Clayton was 5 feet, 6 inches tall, with brown eyes, dark brown skin, and black hair. He was mustered in as a private on the same day, and was placed in Company B. His regiment was assigned to garrison duty in Chattanooga during the Franklin-Nashville Campaign as a part of the Department of the Cumberland. Soon after, the regiment was reassigned again to the District of Etowah in the Department of the Cumberland in preparation for General John Bell Hood's advance towards Nashville. Clayton and the regiment saw action at the ensuing Battle of Nashville on December 15-16, and then a subsequent skirmish at Overton's Hill on December 16 (part of the ongoing battle). Clayton and the regiment, along with the rest of the Union army under Major General George H. Thomas, subsequently pursued Hood to the Tennessee River during the time period between December 17 and 28.

Following Hood's retreat to Mississippi, Clayton and the regiment were reassigned to the 1st Colored Brigade in the District of the Etowah, and were stationed for duty in Chattanooga and in the District of East Tennessee. There they remained until July 1865, when they moved to Greenville in the newly created Department of Tennessee. Clayton mustered out with the rest of the regiment on March 26, 1866, in Nashville.

No details of his life in the postbellum period have been uncovered.

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DATABASE CONTENT
Name:Clayton, Arthur
Alternative names:
Roles:
  • Soldier
Gender:M
Race:Black
Regiment/Ship:
RegimentCompany
14th Regiment Infantry U.S. Colored TroopsB
Branch of service:Army
Enlistment/Muster:
TypeDatePlaceAccepted/RejectedAgeStatusReason
Muster In1864-11-01Chattanooga, TN
Enlistment1864-11-01Chattanooga, TNaccepted18Unknown
Muster Out1866-03-26Nashville, TNMustered Out
Residence at enlistment:
Rank In:Private
Rank Out:Private
Highest rank achieved:Private
Birth date:1846
Birth date certainty:About
Birth place:Charlottesville, VA
Death date:
Death place:
Causes of death:
Occupations:Farmer
SOURCES

Compiled Service Records for Arthur Clayton, RG94, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Washington, D.C.; Frederick A. Dyer, A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, vol. 3 (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Publishing Company, 1908).