"'Brevet Brigadier General Draper's brigade of colored troops, Brevet Major General Kautz's division, were the first light infantry to enter Richmond ,' asserted correspondent Chester. 'The gallant 36th U.S. Colored Troops , under Colonel B. F. Pratt, has the honor of being the first regiment.' In a letter written on April 24 to the 'Boston Commonwealth,' Platt himself was even more explicit:
"'As attempts have repeatedly been made to take from Gen. Draper's brigade of colored troops the credit of being the first to enter the city of Richmond , on the morning of April 3rd, and give it to Deven's division of the 24th Corps, I desire to set the facts before you as they are.
"'Statements published in regard to the cavalry and infantry skirmishers , who were in advance , have been made in such a way as to lead the public to believe that Draper's was not the first in the city; whereas the truth is, the 36th U. S. C. Regt. Infantry, of General Draper's 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 25th Army Corps , was with its colors within the city limits before any other regiments; and the other regiments of the brigade before any other brigade, whether colored or white troops.'
"Writing to the 'Christian Recorder,' Chaplain Garland H. White of the 28th USCT emphatically proclaimed that 'the colored soldiers of the Army of the James were the first to enter the city of Richmond. I was with them.'"
P. 422, "Babylon Is Fallen," LIKE MEN OF WAR BLACK TROOPS IN THE CIVIL WAR, 1862-1865 by Noah Andre Trudeau (1998)
Sunday, April 3, 2016
BLACK TROOPS IN RICHMOND APRIL 3 1865
"'Brevet Brigadier General Draper's brigade of colored troops, Brevet Major General Kautz's division, were the first light infantry to enter Richmond ,' asserted correspondent Chester. 'The gallant 36th U.S. Colored Troops , under Colonel B. F. Pratt, has the honor of being the first regiment.' In a letter written on April 24 to the 'Boston Commonwealth,' Platt himself was even more explicit:
"'As attempts have repeatedly been made to take from Gen. Draper's brigade of colored troops the credit of being the first to enter the city of Richmond , on the morning of April 3rd, and give it to Deven's division of the 24th Corps, I desire to set the facts before you as they are.
"'Statements published in regard to the cavalry and infantry skirmishers , who were in advance , have been made in such a way as to lead the public to believe that Draper's was not the first in the city; whereas the truth is, the 36th U. S. C. Regt. Infantry, of General Draper's 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 25th Army Corps , was with its colors within the city limits before any other regiments; and the other regiments of the brigade before any other brigade, whether colored or white troops.'
"Writing to the 'Christian Recorder,' Chaplain Garland H. White of the 28th USCT emphatically proclaimed that 'the colored soldiers of the Army of the James were the first to enter the city of Richmond. I was with them.'"
P. 422, "Babylon Is Fallen," LIKE MEN OF WAR BLACK TROOPS IN THE CIVIL WAR, 1862-1865 by Noah Andre Trudeau (1998)