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Please check back for more information about Collins Mitchell and Anthony Edwards – two African American veterans of the Civil War
African American Veterans of the Civil War
The "Old House" cemetery includes two graves belonging to Gullah infantrymen who fought for the Union in the War Between the States, their service earning them stone markers. They both served in the 21st Regiment, United States Colored Troops (USCT).
Anthony Edwards' grave is located due west of this sign. Nearby is the resting place of Collins Mitchell, who was born between 1824 and 1830, likely on Spring Island.
For reasons unknown Collins Mitchell enlisted in the army as "John Fripp," the name carved on his headstone. Mitchell died a free man on Spring Island December 16, 1910.
Enslaved Family
Collins, his wife Bella, their daughter and son were all enslaved on the Edwards' plantation. When George Edwards' died, his son George Barksdale raised money by auctioning some slaves—including Mitchell and his family. They were sold in Charleston's slave market on February 15 1860.
Bella was sold to a different buyer than the rest of the family, a calamitous event. In a remarkable story they were reunited before the end of the Civil War—during which time they experienced years of upheaval, saw Emancipation, returning to Spring Island free of thralldom.
Civil War Adventures
The opportunity to reunite was significantly improved following the Battle of Port Royal Sound, when many white South Carolinians fled the Low Country. Thousands of slaves were left behind; many refused to accompany their owners. Those willing to take the risk fled servitude, making the dangerous trek to the protection of Union lines.
Collins Mitchell next appears working as a paid laborer for the Union forces on Morris Island, at the mouth of Charleston Harbor—a crucial base in the Union siege of Charleston. On the December 27, 1864 he enlisted as a private in the 21st Regiment, USCT.
His most remarkable day as an infantryman was likely February 18, 1865. After Confederate forces abandoned Charleston, soldiers from the 21st Regiment were first to enter the city, along with black troops of the 54th Massachusetts. The USCT troops landed at docks located only a few hundred yards from a slave pen where G. V. Ancker had purchased Mitchell and his children five years previously.
Return to Spring Island
April 25, 1866 John Fripp/Collins Mitchell was mustered out of the U.S. Army and returned to Spring Island with Bella and three daughters. They leased and farmed fifteen acres of land, owning horses, livestock and farm equipment.
For over 40 years the family home was a cabin in the old quarters that stood close by the "Old House." Once their children were grown the Mitchell household sometimes saw the presence of grandchildren.
Collins Mitchell never owned any land. In 1892 he was awarded a Union veterans pension of $12 per month. Bella applied for a widow pension in 1911.