SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) — The New York State Military Museum in Saratoga Springs is marking Black History Month with a program on African American soldiers who fought for the Union in the Civil War.
At a program on Feb. 22, Hartwick College associate dean Harry Bradshaw Matthews will speak on the role of the United States Colored Troops. They were soldiers recruited directly into the U.S. Army and not into a state regiment.
More than 4,000 New Yorkers served in the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War.
Matthews is an expert on the Colored Troops. He's the founding president and executive director of the United States Colored Troops Institute for Local History and Family Research, based at Hartwick College in Oneonta.