Comments on: Were There Black Soldiers in September 1861?

By: Gil Wilson

Gil Wilson — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 23:45:44 +0000

The pension is very careful to avoid any mention of Osborn being African-American. The pension document does not say, but the St. Augustine Blues site lists him as a private. What made this pension interesting was that Osborn’s wife had earlier been married to James Lang of the 33rd. She did not get a divorce from him before marrying Osborn. Her pension for Lang was denied because they ruled it a slave era marriage (which it wasn’t…the St. Augustine Commissioner of Freedmen married them.) that was not continued after slavery. The two pensions attempts accidently fell on each other for me to link them up.

By: Donald R. Shaffer

Donald R. Shaffer — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:47:50 +0000

Was Osborn a mustered in member of the 3rd Florida Confederate or a servant? It’s an important distinction. It was not uncommon for southern states after the Civil War to grant state pensions to “faithful negroes” who had been attached to Confederate units as servants, laborers, teamsters, etc. But NOT as soldiers. – Don

By: Gil Wilson

Gil Wilson — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 21:12:51 +0000

Emanual Osborn of the St. Augustine Blues (Company E, Third Florida Confederate) was a member in 1861. He was discharged in November 1862 at end of his term of service. Florida Pension records.
I have another one somewhere who was shooting at the Union soldiers at the battle of Bull Run and later became a member of the 33rd or 34th USCT…can’t find my notes on where I got this but if I run into the source I’ll post it.

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