Certificate of enlistment for Tilghman Detter
date: label: Date
content: June 6, 1865
name: label: Created by
content: United States Army, American, founded 1775
label: Created by
content: State of Maryland, founded 1788
label: Subject of
content: Tilghman Detter, American
label: Subject of
content: United States Colored Troops, American, 1863 - 1865
label: Subject of
content: Josiah W. Jones, American
notes: label: Caption
content: Slaveholders in Border States loyal to the Union—Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri—were compensated for enlisting the people they had enslaved into military service. This certificate shows payment made to enslaver William Thompson for the enlistment of Tilghman Detter into the 39th Regiment of the United States Colored Troops (USCT).
label: Description
content: A single page certificate of enlistment for the formerly enslaved man Tilghman Detter and payment for Detter to William Thompson of R. by the state of Maryland. The form is printed in black ink and completed by hand in brown ink. At the top in bold and decorative text is [Office of the U.S. Board of Claims, / No. 10 SOUTH STREET, BALTIMORE, MD.].
label: Description
content: The top half of the document is certification that "Tilghman Detter of Co. G, 39th Reg't U.S.C.T., was enlisted in the United States service, from the State of Maryland" prior to April 1, 1864. The date of enlistment is provided as March 31, 1864, and the date of the claim is May 4, 1865. It is signed by the clerk to U.S. Board of Claims.
label: Description
content: The bottom half of the document begins [$100.] in bold and decorative font and declares the Treasurer of the State of Maryland to pay [William Thompson of R] the amount of $100 dollars as appropriated by an Act of the General Assembly of Maryland "for my former slave Tilghman Detter, enlisted in the service of the United States from the state of Maryland, as described in the above certificate." It is dated June 6, 1865 and signed at the bottom by Josiah W. Jones and witnessed by C.W. Moore. To the left of the signatures is a red, two-cent revenue stamp cancelled by hand in black ink.
label: Description
content: The verso of the document is blank except for a central inscription reading [Mr. Thompson of R].
place: label: Place made
content: Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, North and Central America
label: Place made
content: Baltimore, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Emancipation
label: Topic
content: Military
label: Topic
content: Slavery
label: Topic
content: U.S. History, Civil War, 1861-1865
label: Topic
content: United States Colored Troops
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Slavery and Freedom Objects
label: Classification
content: Documents and Manuscripts
label: Exhibition
content: Double Victory: The African American Military Experience
label: On View
content: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Community/Third Floor, 3 053
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2011.155.39.1
objectType: label: Type
content: military records
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No Known Copyright Restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 9 13/16 x 8 7/16 in. (24.9 x 21.4 cm)