Christian Fleetwood
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| Christian Abraham Fleetwood | |
|---|---|
| July 21, 1840 - September 28, 1914 | |
 Christian Fleetwood |
|
| Place of birth | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Place of death | Washington, D.C. |
| Allegiance | U.S. Army |
| Years of service | 1863-1866 |
| Rank | Sergeant Major |
| Unit | 4th Regiment, U.S. Colored Volunteer Infantry |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War. |
| Awards | Medal of Honor |
Christian Abraham Fleetwood (July 21, 1840 - September 28, 1914), was a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, editor, musician, and a government official. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the American Civil War.
Fleetwood was born in Baltimore on July 21, 1840, the son of Charles and Anna Maria Fleetwood, both free persons of color, he received his early education in the home of a wealthy sugar merchant, John C. Brunes and his wife, the latter treating him like her son. He continued his education in the office of the secretary of the Maryland Colonization Society, went briefly to Liberia and Sierra Leone, and graduated in 1860 from Ashmun Institute (later Lincoln University) in Oxford, Pennsylvania. He and others published briefly the Lyceum Observer in Baltimore, said to be the first African American newspaper in the upper South.
When the Civil War disrupted trade with Liberia, he enlisted in the Union Army (August 17, 1863). After rising to the rank of Sergeant Major, he was honorably discharged on May 4, 1866. He then worked as a bookkeeper in Columbus, Ohio, until 1867, and in several minor government positions, in the Freedmen's Bank and War Department, Washington, D.C. He also organized a battalion of D.C. National Guardsmen and the in the 1880s, Washington, D.C.'s, Colored High School Cadet Corps.
He died suddenly of heart failure in Washington, D.C. on September 28, 1914. Funeral services were held at St. Luke's Episcopal Church. Interment was in Harmony Cemetery, Washington, D.C., the First Separate Battalion of D.C. National Guards serving as escort. Among the honorary pallbearers were such prominent Washingtonians as Maj. Arthur Brooks, Daniel Murray, Whitefield McKinlay, and Judge Robert H. Terrell.
The participation by the National Guard, and by Arthur Brooks in particular, was an appropriate recognition of the most significant aspects of Fleetwood's career. Enlisting as a sergeant in Company G, 4th Regiment, U.S. Colored Volunteer Infantry, on August 11, 1863, he was promoted on August 19 to sergeant major. The regiment, assigned to the 3rd Division, saw service with the 10th, 18th, and 25th Army Corps in campaigns in North Carolina and Virginia. For heroism in the critical Battle of Chaffin's Farm on the outskirts of Richmond (September 29, 1864) he was awarded the Medal of Honor. Although every officer of the regiment sent a petition for him to be commissioned an officer, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton did not recommend appointment.
It was his military career that probably inspired Fleetwood's interest in the Washington colored National Guard and the colored high school cadet corps. A Washington cadet corps, organized and commanded by Capt. D. Graham on June 12, 1880, was expanded into the Sixth Battalion of D.C. National Guards on July 18, 1887, with Fleetwood appointed major and commanding officer. After reorganizations, several African American battalions were consolidated into the First Separate Battalion in 1891. Passed over as its commanding officer, Fleetwood resigned in 1892. Meanwhile he and Maj. Charles B. Fisher, who had commanded the Fifth Battalion, were instrumental in organizing the Colored High School Cadet Corps of the District of Columbia in 1888. Military science instruction was first offered in the Miner Building, 17th and Church Streets NW, but because of inadequate facilities the cadets drilled at the O Street Armory of the Washington Cadet Corps. Fleetwood, the first instructor of the colored high school cadets, served until 1897, when he was succeeded by Maj. Arthur Brooks. These two officers developed a tradition of military service among young colored men in Washington which led some of them to enlist in World War I and others to be commissioned at the Colored Officers Training Camp in Fort Des Moines, Iowa.
Fleetwood never returned to active duty with any military organization. However, many residents of the District of Columbia recommended that he be appointed as the Commander of the 50th U.S. Colored Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish-American War. This request was not seriously considered by the War Department, and the participation of colored soldiers from the District of Columbia was similarly disregarded. It is not known whether Fleetwood's short stature and physical ailments reduced his chances for consideration. His army records state that he was five feet, four and one half inches tall. These records also state that he applied in 1891 for a pension because of "total" deafness in his left ear, the result of "gunshot concussion," and "severe" in his right ear, the result of catarrh contracted while in the army. His application also stated that these ailments prevented him from speaking or singing in public. Other evidence shows that for a number of years he had served as choirmaster of the 15th Street Presbyterian Church, St. Luke's and St. Mary's Protestant Episcopal Churches, as well as the Berean Baptist Church. Supported by the community, including the wives of former presidents (Lucy Webb Hayes and Frances Folsom Cleveland), his musical presentations were extremely successful.
With his wife Sara Iredell, whorn he married on November 16, 1869, he led an active social life. Fleetwood was acquainted with most of the prominent African Americans of the period. They frequently visited his residence, and presented him with a testimonial in 1889.
[edit] External link
- This article incorporates text in the public domain that is the work of the U.S. Government.
- Fleetwood, Christian, U.S. National Park Service.
