page_title: 5th United States Colored Cavalry Regiment
section_title: Ambush at Simpsonville
hierarchical_section_title: 5th United States Colored Cavalry Regiment / Ambush at Simpsonville
caption_attribution_description: English: Pattern 1853 Enfield Rifled Musket 日本語: 1853年式エンフィールド銃
context_page_description: The 5th United States Colored Cavalry was a regiment of the United States Army organized as one of the units of the United States Colored Troops during the American Civil War. The 5th USCC was one of the more notable black fighting units. It was officially organized in Kentucky in October 1864, after its first two battles. It was commanded by Colonel James Brisbin until February 1865, when he took over the 6th US Colored Cavalry. His executive officer, Louis Henry Carpenter, commanded the regiment until 20 March 1866.
  The regiment was composed of ex-slaves, freedmen, and slaves who had escaped to Union lines. Many white officers from the unit were later assigned to the famed Buffalo Soldiers cavalry units who operated during the Indian Wars in the West. Many USCC soldiers volunteered for further service after their Civil War units were retired. This regiment is not to be confused with the 5th Massachusetts Colored Cavalry
context_section_description: On 23 January 1865, 80 colored troops of Company E, 5th US Colored Cavalry, under command of 2nd Lieutenant Augustus Flint, were assigned to move almost a thousand head of cattle from Camp Nelson to the stock yard at Louisville, Kentucky.  The men were assigned mostly to the front and rear of the spread-out herd of cattle. About 41 men were bringing up the rear on 25 January near Simpsonville, when they were ambushed by Confederate guerrillas. Few of the Union troops were able to fire their muzzle-loaded Enfield infantry rifles, due to fouled powder. The guerrillas were armed with 6-shot revolvers, and most carried two or more. As Confederates quickly closed the distance, almost all of the colored soldiers bringing up the rear were wounded or dismounted.  Only two escaped harm, one by playing dead, and the other hiding under an overturned wagon box. The forward group panicked and fled.
  About an hour after the ambush, local citizens found 15 dead and 20 wounded soldiers on and near the road. Four more soldiers were later found dead of wounds or of exposure nearby. The men of Simpsonville took 20 wounded men back to town; 8 of the men so severely wounded they were not expected to live. A total of six soldiers died en route or in Louisville.
  Later it was determined that 19 Union soldiers had been murdered trying to surrender or after being disarmed.  The remainder of the Union wounded were left to die in the freezing cold. Three soldiers remained missing in the final accounting.
  Flint, who was in town during the ambush, fled to Louisville. Authorities telegraphed Camp Nelson, and Carpenter immediately ordered ambulances. A heavy escort mounted and arrived on scene on 28 October. They took the surviving wounded to a hospital in Louisville.
  Locals reported what had happened and the boasts of the Confederate guerrillas, led by Captain Dick Taylor, who had murdered or shot many of the Union soldiers after they had been captured. The mass grave was located, and an effort was made to find the missing men.  Carpenter wrote a report and documented the names of the known guerrillas. He encouraged a hunt to capture and prosecute them, but it was never undertaken. 
  A memorial marker commemorating the ambush and murder of US Colored Troops was unveiled in 2009.
caption: 1853 Enfield Rifle-Musket was the second most used infantry weapon used in the Civil War. It was 55 inches (1,400 mm) long and fired a .577 calibre Minié-type lead ball projectile, propelled by black powder and a copper percussion cap. Because it was a muzzle-loading weapon, it was unsuited for cavalry use.
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