First Michigan Colored Regiment
The First Michigan Colored Regiment was organized at Camp Ward, which originally stood at this location. Formed from August through October 1863, a year of draft riots and protests against the war, this Negro regiment consisted entirely of volunteers. During training, a regimental band was formed and toured southern Michigan to recruit additional volunteers. Mustered here as the 102nd U.S. Colored Troops, February 17, 1864, the 900-man unit left Detroit March 28, 1864 for service in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. More than 1,400 men served in the regiment during 19 months in the field; ten percent of this number died in service. The regiment was disbanded in October 1865, in Detroit.
Marker can be reached from Macomb Street 0.1 miles east of Chene Street, on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
