Norfleet Keen
Norfleet Keen was born around 1842 in North Carolina to Pervela Keen. It is unclear whether his family was free or enslaved. By 1850, the family was living in Ripley, Indiana, and Keen was attending school there. A decade later, they were living in Smith, Indiana. Census records listed the entire family as “mulatto.”
 
Keen enlisted in the Union army on September 28, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in the 5th Indiana Light Artillery on November 22, 1861. The regiment was stationed in Tennessee and Kentucky, and it took part in the Battle of Perryville and the Battle of Stones River. He opposed slavery, and in January 1862, he told his brother that he was “glad I am engaged with all my heart in the service of our country in the behalf of guarding against the wickedness of this ungodly and sinfull servitude.” Two months later, he reiterated that he was engaged “in a good cause.”
 
He was discharged for disability on January 16, 1863. Army officials apparently listed him as a deserter, but the War Department removed the charges in January 1886. Keen returned to Smith after leaving the army. He applied for a pension in October 1863, but he never received one, possibly due to the desertion charges.
 
In April 1865, he reported that “Indianapolis was wild yesterday with enthusiasm over the news of the fall of Richmond & Petersburg.” He expressed pride in the Union’s USCT soldiers, writing that “Old Abe was the first man in Richmond backed up by a Brigade of the sable sons of Africa. Hurrah for Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, & Thomas. Cheers for Abe.” Keen died sometime after 1865.
1664
DATABASE CONTENT
(1664)Keen, Norfleet1842
  • Conflict Side: Union
  • Role: Soldier
  • Rank in: Private
  • Rank out: Private
  • Rank highest: Private
  • Gender: Male
  • Race: Black

Documents - Records: 8

  • (5678) [writer] ~ Norfleet Keen to Jesse H. Keen, 4 April 1865
  • (5679) [recipient] ~ Jesse H. Keen to Norfleet Keen, 20 April 1863
  • (5680) [writer] ~ Norfleet Keen to Joshua Keen, 1 June 1862
  • (5681) [writer] ~ Norfleet Keen to Brother, 2 April 1862
  • (5682) [writer] ~ Norfleet Keen to Pervela Keen, 4 March 1862
  • (5683) [writer] ~ Norfleet Keen to Joshua Keen, 30 January 1862
  • (5684) [writer] ~ Norfleet Keen to Joshua Keen, 18 January 1862
  • (5685) [writer] ~ Norfleet Keen to Brother, 13 December 1861

People - Records: 3

  • (1665) Keen, Jesse H. is the [sibling of] (1664) Keen, Norfleet
  • (1666) Keen, Joshua is the [sibling of] (1664) Keen, Norfleet
  • (1667) Keen, Pervela is the [parent of] (1664) Keen, Norfleet

Places - Records: 1

  • (299) [birth] ~ North Carolina

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Regiments - Records: 1

  • (527) [enlisted] ~ 5th Indiana Light Artillery
SOURCES

1850 and 1860 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, available from Ancestry.com; Indiana Civil War Soldier Database Index, 1861-1865, available from Ancestry.com; General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934, available from Ancestry.com; Norfleet Keen to Joshua Keen, 30 January 1862 and 4 March 1862, Nau Collection; Norfleet Keen to Jesse Keen, 4 April 1865, Nau Collection.