5th United States Colored Cavalry The 5th United States Colored Cavalry was a regiment of the United States Army organized as one of many " Colored " units during the American Civil War . The 5th USCC was one of the more notable " black " fighting units and it was officially organized , after its first two battles , in Kentucky in October 1864 . 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 then commanded the regiment until March 20 , 1866 . The regiment was composed of ex - slaves , freedmen , and slaves . Many " white " officers from the unit were later assigned to the famed " Buffalo Soldiers " cavalry units . Many former USCC soldiers ( later called troopers ) volunteered for further service after their Civil War units were retired . Organization . In the early months of 1864 , General Stephen Gano Burbridge , commander of the Military District of Kentucky , issued General Order No . 24 which authorized the formation of " colored " units composed of ex - slaves , freedmen , and slaves in his command . Although the unit was not officially formed until October 24 , 1864 , it saw combat on two different occasions . Its first major encounter was on October 2 , 1864 , in and around the salt works of Saltville , Virginia . When word of Burbridge ’ s raid reached the 5th USCC , the regiment had yet to be officially organized until after they returned from the raid . At the time of the battle , over 600 " colored " soldiers joined General Burbridge in the , as yet unorganized , 5th USCC . Although the regiment consisted of black cavalry men , the officers of the regiment were required to be white . The white officers would then organize noncommissioned field officers among the ranks of the black soldiers to fill the positions of sergeants . However , Lieutenant Colonel L . Henry Carpenter soon realized that his newly formed black troops were illiterate . Therefore , Carpenter petitioned command to place white noncommissioned officers in charge of the black units . His request was granted , and hastily the 5th USCC was formed . Some soldiers had not even officially enlisted ; few officers had been appointed , and even fewer noncommissioned officers were assigned . Yet Colonel James F . Wade was temporarily placed in charge of the group with orders to join Burbridge in Kentucky . In his haste to create the unit , Wade mounted his 600 men on untrained horses with Enfield infantry rifles , which were useless to mounted men as they could not be loaded from horseback . In comparison , the troops of the 11th Michigan and 12th Ohio Cavalries were armed with Spencer repeating carbine s , which were wholly effective from horseback . General Burbridge had been ordered by General Grant to proceed into southwest Virginia and destroy the salt works at Saltville . The 5th USCC , therefore , was attached to Colonel Brisbin ’ s forces and joined Burbridge in Prestonburg , Kentucky . Burbridge left Prestonburg on September 27 to march towards Saltville . The black troops were an object of much ridicule . The soldiers were also directing their malice at the black soldiers in the form of petty theft , such as having their hat pulled off , or having their horses stolen . Yet the black soldiers never complained or retaliated against the white racism . The Battle of Saltville and the 5th USCC . The 5th USCC participated in the Battle of Saltville I on October 1 – 3 , 1864 , as part of the Union forces under the command of General Stephen Gano Burbridge . Despite valiant attempts to break through Confederate lines , the cavalry was repeatedly repulsed . The battle became a defeat for the Union forces and in the ensuing hours after its finish , a scene of criminal violence , as Union injured , notably members of the 5th USCC , were murdered in their hospital beds by Confederate partisans . Chief among the partisans was Champ Ferguson who was arrested after the war had ended and tried for the murders . Ferguson was convicted in the subsequent trial which took place in Nashville and sentenced to death . His hanging made him one of only two men executed for war crimes which took place during the American Civil War ( the other being Henry Wirz , the commander of Camp Sumter , a Confederate prisoner of war camp near Andersonville , Georgia ) . Stoneman ’ s 1864 Winter Raid . In December 1864 , General George Stoneman ordered the 5th USCC to participate in a raid from East Tennessee into southwestern Virginia . This resulted in engagements that involved the 5th USCC at Hopkinsville , Kentucky on December 12 , Kingsport , Tennessee on December 13 , the Battle of Marion near Marion , Virginia on December 17 & 18 , and the second Battle of Saltville on December 20 & 21 near Saltville , Virginia . All were considered Union victories . During the Battle of Marion , Division Commander Stephen G . Burbridge ordered the 5th USCC between two white units on the left flank of the Union line . Lieutenant Colonel James S . Brisbin and his second in command , Carpenter , led their dismounted soldiers forward toward the Confederate defensive works . The Confederates opened heavy fire upon the advancing Union troops that included four ten pound Parrott rifled cannons . The first Union charge wavered and fell back . Carpenter was seen giving clear orders to reform and rallied his men . With a mighty yell the 5th USCC rushed forward toward the breastworks but could not break the defensive line . Carpenter ordered the men to dig in and night fell . Volunteers went out between lines to rescue the wounded . On December 18 , the morning was cold and rainy with a light fog . The second day began as a copy of the first with multiple Union charges . The Union center was able to breach the center of the Confederate breatworks but were pushed out by a Rebel counterattack . Carpenter led a mounted rescue force of colored soldiers to save white soldiers trapped near a cover bridge on the left flank . Carpenter made several attempts but could not rescue the soldiers . Most of those trapped soldiers would be captured later that afternoon , but released before giving their parole . Later that day the Confederate reinforcements delivered a wild rebel yelling charge on the Union left flank . The white unit adjacent to the 5th USCC was completely routed and the 5th USCC flank was threatened . Ordered to fall back , Carpenter and Brisbin tried to maintain an orderly retreat . Many " colored soldiers " remembering the murder of their comrades during the first battle of Saltville broke ranks to rescue their wounded comrades . The retreat threatened to become a rout . About 4 PM , Union reinforcements arrived and bolstered the Union line . During the night , Confederate forces were forced to retire due to the lack of ammunition . The next day Union forces buried the dead and helped the wounded . The costly victory marked the highpoint of Stoneman ' s raid . On the afternoon of December 20 , Union forces attacked Saltville , Virginia . Confederate forces were overwhelmed when the 5th & 6th USCC entered the fray with a cold vengeance . Outnumbered Confederate forces retreated and awaited promised reinforcements . Union forces hastily attempted to destroy the vital salt works . They destroyed about one third of the boiling kettles and most evaporating sheds . They also damaged portions of the Virginia & Tennessee railroad . But they failed to destroy or damage the actual salt wells . General Stoneman claimed a victory and retreated out of Virginia before Confederate forces could completely surround him . Carpenter ' s role is strangely missing from letters and other documents that simply note that he was there . Within three months , the saltworks were back in full production . Carpenter later wrote a long letter home about this battle and how his men responded . Ambush at Simpsonville . On January 23 , 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 mostly assigned to the front and rear of the spread - out herd of cattle . About 41 men were bringing up the rear on January 25 near Simpsonville , when they were ambushed by Confederate guerrillas . Very 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 stretched out 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 , and a heavy escort mounted and arrived on scene on October 28 . 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 and encouraged a hunt and their prosecution . This never happened . A memorial marker commemorating the ambush was unveiled in 2009 . End of the 5th USCC . The 5th USCC remained on duty for almost a year after the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House . On March 16 , 1866 , the 5th USCC held its final formation in Helena , Arkansas where the fifty missing soldiers from the first battle of Saltville were recognized . Although the likely location for the murdered black soldiers at Wiley Hall would be what is now the Holston Cemetery on Campus , this cannot be proven . Repetitious names from similar units , such as a John Willis of both the Federal and Confederate 5th Kentucky Regiment , bring some doubt as to the accuracy of the marking of the Confederate graves on the campus . This happens on several occasions , and may be due to duplication of a name , or the mislabeling of a grave . Many soldiers of the 5th USCC , who were scraped together from former slaves , freedmen , and liberated slaves , paid the ultimate price for their long - fought freedom . Battles of the 5th USCC . Summary of battles of the 5th USCC . October 2 - Saltville , Virginia - Battle of Saltville I October 21 - Harrodsburg , Kentucky - an engagement December 12 - Hopkinsville , Kentucky - an engagement December 13 - Kingsport , Tennessee ( flanking movement & skirmishing ) December 17 – 18 , 1864 , Marion , Virginia - Battle of Marion December 20 – 21 - Saltville , Virginia - Battle of Saltville II January 25 - Simpsonville , KY - an ambush