Colored Troops Before Richmond

Since the Civil War, the United States military has awarded medals for individual bravery, notably the Congressional Medal of Honor, but there was only one medal struck as an award to a body of troops for a particular battle in that conflict. This is the highly sought-after “Colored Troops before Richmond” medal, which is a very special reminder of the Civil War, let alone its numismatic heritage.

The election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency in November 1860 set off alarm bells throughout the South. The president-elect was seen as an abolitionist wanting to immediately free the slaves, which was not quite true. He did not believe in slavery but felt that it had to be gradually abolished to avoid bloodshed between the North and South.

Prior to the presidential inauguration on March 4, 1861, several Southern states had either seceded from the Union or had signaled their intention of doing so. Lincoln had privately sent assurances of his real views to influential Southerners, but they had been ignored.

Actually, the question of slavery was not the only issue troubling the South. In 1830, for example, South Carolina had threatened to secede over the tariff laws but