Brothers in Arms

[TomP]

Baldy Guy (L.) and his younger brother George (R.) were born on the plantation of Albert Guy, just a few miles south of Tuscumbia, Alabama in Franklin County. (Colbert County was not established until after the war.) Abutting Albert's large farm was the plantation of his brother Lorenzo Guy.

In the spring of 1863, all the slaves from the two farms followed a Union patrol moving through the area. It was frequently the custom for newly freed slaves to keep the last names of their former owners and so in this way more than four dozen Guys, of all ages, came to the contraband camp in Corinth, MS.

The opportunity soon arose for able-bodied men to join the 1st​ Alabama Infantry of African Descent and four of the Guy men answered the call. Baldy and George were placed in companies B and H, while Henry and Joseph (no actual relation to each other or Baldy and George) were assigned together in A.

The regiment remained in Corinth as part of the garrison for several months and Henry's wife Hannah found employment as an assistant to the company cook. In January 1864, the regiment was transferred to Memphis where they received a new designation, the 55th​ United States Colored Infantry.

In early June the regiment set out on an expedition under Brig. Gen. Samuel Sturgis that lead to disaster at Brice's Crossroads. While the 55th​ distinguished themselves on the field and during the subsequent retreat, only one of the Guy men, George, came away unscathed.

Henry was captured and taken to a prison near Meridian, from which he escaped, was recaptured, and escaped again. Joseph was also captured and he too escaped, despite a crippling knee wound from an exploding artillery shell. Baldy took a bullet to the left shoulder and despite having no food and little rest, he managed to walk ninety miles to safety in less than 48 hours. And he was still carrying his rifle when he arrived.

All four men survived the war, the last of them, George, passing away in 1928. This image, which comes from the Library of Congress, is the only known photograph of any of the nearly 2,000 soldiers who passed through the Corinth Contraband Camp.

The Corinth Contraband Camp, a unit of Shiloh National Military Park, is open for visitation during daylight hours.

 

[dlofting]

Thanks for posting. I always find these types of stories interesting.

 

[Will Carry]

View attachment 348857

Thank for posting this chief! and don't drink the Habusaki!

 

[James N.]

Note that the Guys have - in supposed "Confederate" fashion - turned their US beltplates upside down; this was likely done to "fool" the camera for this so-called hard image which reverses the image, placing accouterments like bayonet scabbards and cap pouches on the "wrong" side! They have removed their belts and reversed them so that it will appear correct in the finished photograph.