I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 865 

To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the African Americans who served with Union forces during the Civil War, 

in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2023 

Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House 

Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to the African Americans who served with Union 

forces during the Civil War, in recognition of their bravery and outstanding service. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Colored 

5 Troops Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Since the colonial era, African Americans 

2 have served the United States in times of war. 

3 (2) During the Civil War, approximately 

4 200,000 African-American men served in the Union 

5 Army and 19,000 African-American men served in 

6 the Union Navy. 

7 (3) During the Civil War, African-American 

8 women were not allowed to formally enlist as soldiers 

9 or sailors, though they served as nurses, cooks, 

10 spies, and scouts for the Union Army and the Union 

11 Navy. 

12 (4) While African-American men served in the 

13 Navy since its establishment, there was resistance to 

14 enlisting them to take up arms for the Union Army 

15 at the start of the Civil War. 

16 (5) As the Civil War dragged on, President 

17 Lincoln broke from the previous policy of his admin18 istration and determined that liberating enslaved 

19 persons ‘‘was a military necessity absolutely essen20 tial for the salvation of the Union’’. 

21 (6) The Act entitled ‘‘An Act to suppress insur22 rection, to punish treason and rebellion, to seize and 

23 confiscate the property of rebels, and for other pur24 poses’’, approved July 17, 1862 (commonly known 

25 as the ‘‘Second Confiscation Act’’) (12 Stat. 589; 


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1 chapter 195), and the Act of July 17, 1862 (com2 monly known as the ‘‘Military Act of 1862’’) (12 

3 Stat. 597; chapter 201), were the first official au4 thorizations to employ African Americans in the 

5 Union Army. 

6 (7) It was not until January 1, 1863, the effec7 tive date of the Emancipation Proclamation issued 

8 by President Lincoln, that the Union Army was or9 dered to receive African-American men. 

10 (8) On May 22, 1863, the United States War 

11 Department issued General Order Number 143, 

12 which established the Bureau of Colored Troops for 

13 the recruitment and organization of regiments of the 

14 Union Army composed of African-American men, 

15 called the United States Colored Troops (referred to 

16 in this section as ‘‘USCT’’). 

17 (9) Leaders such as Frederick Douglass encour18 aged African Americans to enlist to advance the 

19 cause of citizenship. ‘‘Once let the black man get 

20 upon his person the brass letters, ‘U.S.’, let him get 

21 an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoul22 der and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on 

23 [E]arth that can deny that he has earned the right 

24 to citizenship.’’, wrote Douglass. 


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1 (10) African-American sailors constituted a sig2 nificant segment of the Union Navy, making up 20 

3 percent of the total enlisted force of the Navy. 

4 (11) Although there were rank restrictions on 

5 African Americans in the Navy before the Civil War, 

6 this policy changed after the establishment of the 

7 USCT, when the Union Navy started to compete 

8 with the Union Army for enlistment of African 

9 Americans. 

10 (12) Yet, in practice, most African Americans 

11 could not advance beyond lowest ranks of ‘‘boy’’ and 

12 ‘‘landsman.’’ 

13 (13) African-American soldiers and sailors 

14 served with distinction, honor, and bravery amid ra15 cial discrimination and adverse circumstances, in16 cluding the risk of enslavement and torture if cap17 tured. 

18 (14) Eighteen members of the USCT and 8 Af19 rican-American sailors were awarded the Medal of 

20 Honor, the highest honor in the United States for 

21 bravery in combat. 

22 (15) For generations after the Civil War, the 

23 contributions of African Americans in the Civil War 

24 were excluded from historical memory. 


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1 (16) Public Law No. 102–412 (106 Stat. 2104) 

2 authorized the establishment of a memorial on Fed3 eral land in the District of Columbia to honor Afri4 can Americans who served with Union forces during 

5 the Civil War. 

6 (17) This memorial, featuring a bronze statue 

7 of USCT soldiers, an African-American sailor and 

8 family, is surrounded by the Wall of Honor, which 

9 lists the names of the members of the USCT. 

10 (18) The African American Civil War Museum 

11 is located in the District of Columbia. 

12 (19) Patriots and heroes who rose in service to 

13 a Nation that would not fully recognize them, the 

14 African Americans who served the Union during the 

15 Civil War deserve our recognition for their contribu16 tions to the grant of emancipation and citizenship 

17 for nearly 4,000,000 enslaved people and the preser18 vation of the Union. 

19 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

20 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

21 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem22 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

23 for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, 

24 of a gold medal of appropriate design to the African Amer25 icans who served with Union forces during the Civil War, 


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1 collectively, in recognition of their bravery and out2 standing service during the Civil War. 

3 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 

4 award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 

5 Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Sec6 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

7 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec8 retary. 

9 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 

11 gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal 

12 shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where 

13 the medal shall be available for display as appro14 priate and available for research. 

15 (2) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense 

16 of Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 

17 make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) 

18 available for display elsewhere, particularly at appro19 priate locations associated with the United States 

20 Colored Troops. 

21 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

22 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

23 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 at 

24 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 

25 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 


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1 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

2 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu3 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

4 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

5 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 

6 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

7 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

8 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 

9 SALE. 

10 (a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 

11 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

12 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec13 essary to pay for the cost of the medals struck under this 

14 Act. 

15 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 

16 sale of duplicate bronze medals under section 4 shall be 

17 deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise 

18 Fund. 

Æ 


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