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Prince Romerson (c. 1840 – March 30, 1872), a citizen of the Kingdom of Hawaii, was among a group of more than one hundred documented Hawaiian and Hawaii-born combatants who fought in the American Civil War while Hawaii was still an independent nation. He served in multiple regiments in both the Union Navy and Union Army and later served in the frontier army as part of the Buffalo Soldier.[1]

Life

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After the outbreak of the American Civil War, the Kingdom of Hawaii under King Kamehameha IV declared its neutrality on August 26, 1861.[2] Many Native Hawaiians and Hawaii-born Americans—mainly descendants of American missionaries—abroad and in the islands volunteered and enlisted in the military regiments of various states in the Union and the Confederacy. Native Hawaiians participating in the American wars during its period of independence was not unheard of; Individual Native Hawaiians had served in the United States Navy and Army since the War of 1812, and even more served during the American Civil War.[3] Many Hawaiians sympathized with the Union because of Hawaii's ties to New England through missionaries and the whaling industry, and the ideological opposition of many to slavery.[4][5][6]

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Service in the 5th Massachusetts

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Most Native Hawaiians who participated in the war were assigned to the colored regiments because of their dark skin color and the segregationist policy in the military at the time.[6][7] Romerson is one of the few Hawaiian soldiers of the Civil War whose real name is known; many combatants served under anglicized pseudonyms (nome de guerre) because they were easier for English-speaking Americans to pronounce than Hawaiian language names. They were often registered as kanakas, the 19th-century term for Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, with the "Sandwich Islands" (i.e. Hawaii) noted as their place of origin.[6]

Romerson served as a private in the 5th United States Colored Cavalry, Company M.[8]

Serving in the same regiment was another Hawaiian soldier named Charles Heatley.[5]

Buffalo Soldier

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Service as Buffalo Soldier and death and burial.

Prince Romerson (his surname is also shown as Robinson), born Owyhee [Oahu], Sandwich Islands (his birthplace is also indicated as being in India), about 1840; height 5 feet 3 1⁄2 inches (his naval record shows his height as 5 feet 2 inches tall); black complexion (naval record lists complexion as mulatto), black eyes, black hair; occupation, barber; originally enlisted at New York, January 22, 1863, for one year, as landsman in the United States Navy; served aboard the USS Wamsutta; also indicated to have enlisted in the United States Navy, aged 23, at Boston, and served as ordinary seaman aboard the USS Wabash (this particular enlistment shows his surname as Robinson, birthplace as India, and personal description as black complexion, and standing 5 feet 5 inches tall) later enlisted April 23, 1864, at Boston, by G.W. Messinger, for 3 years, in the United States Army; mustered by lieut. D. Madden,

May 5, 1864, at Readville, Massachusetts; served in company M, 5th Regiment Massachusetts Colored Cavalry; promoted to sergeant by virtue of Regimental order to date from June 1, 1864; absent sick at New Orleans, since July 8, 1865; shown as being present on the Hospital Muster Roll of Corps d’Afrique, U.S.A. General Hospital, at New Orleans, Louisiana in July and August, 1865; mustered out of service at New York City, October 9, 1865; discharged October 10, 1865, at Dav. Island, New York Harbor. [CMSR; NPS Soldier and Sailor Database; Find The data web site at http://civil-war-sailors.findthedata.org/.][9]

Prince Romerson (his surname is also shown as Robinson), born Owyhee [Oahu], Sandwich Islands (his birthplace is also indicated as being in India), about 1840; height 5 feet 3 1⁄2 inches (his naval record shows his height as 5 feet 2 inches tall); black complexion (naval record lists complexion as mulatto), black eyes, black hair; occupation, barber; originally enlisted at New York, January 22, 1863, for one year, as landsman in the United States Navy; served aboard the USS Wamsutta; also indicated to have enlisted in the United States Navy, aged 23, at Boston, and served as ordinary seaman aboard the USS Wabash (this particular enlistment shows his surname as Robinson, birthplace as India, and personal description as black complexion, and standing 5 feet 5 inches tall) later enlisted April 23, 1864, at Boston, by G.W. Messinger, for 3 years, in the United States Army; mustered by lieut. D. Madden, May 5, 1864, at Readville, Massachusetts; served in company M, 5th Regiment Massachusetts Colored Cavalry; promoted to sergeant by virtue of Regimental order to date from June 1, 1864; absent sick at New Orleans, since July 8, 1865; shown as being present on the Hospital Muster Roll of Corps d’Afrique, U.S.A. General Hospital, at New Orleans, Louisiana in July and August, 1865; mustered out of service at New York City, October 9, 1865; discharged October 10, 1865, at Dav. Island, New York Harbor. [CMSR; NPS Soldier and Sailor Database; Find The data web site at http://civil-war-sailors.findthedata.org/.] To be corrected, with the details from Ruthanne’s e-mail of 11 May, 2014, 10.26.[10]

Filipino???[11][12][13][14]

One volunteer, Prince Romerson, served in the Fifth Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry, an all-black regiment, and mustered out as a sergeant. [15]

Memorials

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Hawaiian veterans of the Civil War are honored in Honolulu's National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific with a bronze memorial plaque that was erected in 2010 in recognition of the "Hawaiʻi Sons of the Civil War", the more than one hundred documented Hawaiians who served for the Union and the Confederacy.[16][17][18] As of 2014, researchers have identified 119 documented Hawaiian and Hawaii-born combatants from historical records. The exact number remains unclear because of the lack of records.[19][20]

5th Regiment

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In charge of

Led by Lieutenant Cornelius Kaler, Company M was the last be mustered in on May 5, 1865.[21][22]

The 5th Regiment. Massachusetts Voluntary Cavalry was the only cavalry regiment from Massachusetts composed exclusively of colored men. It was organized at Camp Meigs, Readville, during the autumn of 1863 and the winter following. Company "A" was mustered in Jan. 9, 1864, but the last company ("M") was not mustered until the 5th of the following May. Henry S. Russell, who had had an excellent record as an officer in the 2d Regiment Massachusetts Voluntary Infantry and in the 2d Regiment Massachusetts Voluntary Cavalry, was made colonel of the 5th Cavalry. All the commissioned officers of the regiment were white men.

The 1st Battalion under Major Weld, the 2d under Major Adams, and the 3d under Major Bowditch left Camp Meigs on May 5, May 6, and May 8 respectively with orders to proceed to Washington, D. C. The entire regiment was assembled at Camp Casey near Fort Albany in the defenses of Washington, May 11, 1864. Two days later the entire regiment, armed and equipped as infantry, was ordered to Fort Monroe. Arriving May 15, it was immediately sent to City Point on the James River, arriving next day. Here it was assigned to Hinks' (3d) Division, Smith's (18th) Corps.

It was engaged in reconnoitering expeditions and on picket duty during the latter part of May and the early part of June on the lower Appomattox without loss. On June 14 as a part of Holman's (Provisional) Brigade, it participated in the advance toward Petersburg, being engaged with the enemy at Baylor's Farm where it lost three men killed and 19 officers and men wounded, among the latter being Colonel Russell, Major Adams, and Captain H. E. W. Clark. Major Bowditch now assumed command of the regiment, at 7 p.m. another assault was made in which five batteries commanding the Jordan's Point road were captured and the Confederates driven back toward the inner defenses of Petersburg. . The 5th Cavalry (dismounted) operated on the Petersburg and Bermuda Hundred fronts until the last of June when it was ordered to Point Lookout, Md., to guard Confederate prisoner at that post. Here it remained for the balance of the year 1864. Colonel Russell, having recovered from his wound, resumed command of the regiment Sept. 30, retaining the same until Feb. 14, 1865, when he resigned. Lieut. Col. Charles Francis Adams now became colonel.

The regiment returned to the Petersburg front in time to participate in the closing campaign of March and April, 1865, remaining in camp near that city until June when it was ordered to Texas. On Aug. 1, Col. S. E. Chamberlain late of the 1st Mass. Cavalry became colonel of the 5th and did much to improve the condition of the regiment.

The prospect of trouble in Mexico having ended, the regiment was mustered out of Federal service at Clarksville, Texas, October 31, 1865, and immediately started for Massachusetts, making most of the trip by steamer. On arriving in Boston Harbor the regiment was landed at Galloup's Island where it remained until the latter part of November when it was paid off and discharged.

[22]

Organized at Camp Meigs, Readville. 1st Battalion moved to Washington, D.C., May 5-8, 1864. At Camp Stoneman, Giesboro Point, Md., May 8-12. Dismounted and moved to Camp Casey, near Fort Albany, May 12. 2nd Battalion moved to Washington May 6-8, and to Camp Casey May 9. 3rd Battalion moved to Washington May 8-10, and to Camp Casey May 11. Regiment moved to Fortress Monroe, Va,, thence to City Point, Va., May 13-16. Attached to Rand's Provisional Brigade, 18th Army Corps, Dept. of Virginia and North Carolina, May, 1864. Hinks' Colored Division, 18th Army Corps, to June, 1864, 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 18th Army Corps, to July, 1864. Point Lookout, Md., District of St. Mary's, 22nd Army Corps, to March, 1865. Unattached, 25th Army Corps, Dept. of Virginia, to June, 1865. Dept. of Texas to October, 1865.

SERVICE.--Duty at City Point, Va., as Infantry until June 16, 1864. Before Petersburg June 16-19. Siege of Petersburg June 16-28. Moved to Point Lookout, Md., June 30, and duty there guarding prisoners until March, 1865. Ordered to the field and duty near Richmond, March; near Petersburg, April; near City Point, May, and at Camp Lincoln until June 16. Ordered to Texas and duty at Clarksville until October. Mustered out October 31, 1865.

Regiment lost during service 7 Enlisted men killed and 116 Enlisted men by disease. Total 123. [23]

Ruthanne Lum McCunn 142–145

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The military records of Hawaii-born Prince Romerson reveal both his service the US and the diverse attitudes of officers toward people of color.

How Prince, whose name does not infer royalty, had come to be in New York or how long he had resided in the city before enlisting in the navy as a landsman on January 22, 1863 is not known. And though his age 23, and height, 5 feet 2 1/5 inches, are given in the records, his "PERSONAL DESCRIPTION: may offer a better picture of his enrollment officer than of him. Scrawled across the individual columns allocated for "Eye," "Hairs," and "Complexion," is a single word — "Mulatto."

Prior to his enlistment, Prince had been working as barber, but since many Hawaiians in the Northeast arrived as sailors on whalers, he may have entered the navy with experience at sea. Now, on the USS Wamsutta and USS Mercidita, he was part of the Blockading Squadrons, and some of his officers would have shared Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter's belief that "White men cannot stand the southern sun, an exposure to which inevitably brings on the disease of this climate, resultant fever.... The blacks must therefore be used for boats' crews, or for duty requiring exposure to the sun."

After his discharge on March 28, 1864, Prince left the navy, but not military service. Less than a month later in Boston, he enlisted in Company M of the 5th Regiment Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Calvary. In contrast to the naval records, Prince's enlistment document in the 5th specifies his black eyes, black hair, black complexion, and his place of birth: "Owyhee [a variant spelling for Hawaii], Sandwich Islands." That the enrollment officer would specify the island of Hawaii within the Kingdom of Hawaii suggests he had a more than superficial exchange with Prince, possible respect. Indeed, during muster in at Camp Meigs, Readville, on May 5, 1864, Prince was promoted sergeant effective June 1, 1864.

Organization for the 5th had begun the previous autumn and winter and Company M was its last. Day after Prince's muster in, the regiment assembled in a camp within the defenses of Washing, where it was armed and equipped as infantry. Then, as the 5th Regiment Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Calvary (Dismounted), it proceeded south to City Point, Virginia, on the James River, where it was attached to the Colored Division of the 18th Army Corps.

Though he had no more experience than the men under him, Prince was charged as sergeant with preserving order in his squad during the reconnoitering expedition and on picket duty. In the second battle against Petersburg, he was responsible for keeping his men in ranks and stopping anyone from running. The regiment performed well. Up against a Confederate position, the US Colored Infantry captured a Confederate cannon and the 5th Regiment Massachusetts Calvary dragged it off the field. Where speed was essential, however, Union generals in charge delayed. This resulted in confusion, heavy casualties, and the eventual necessity for a prolonged nine-month siege of the city of Petersburg.

At the end of June, the 5th was sent to Point Lookout, Maryland, to guard Confederate prisoners of war who were penned within 40 acres surrounded by wooden walls 14 feet high. Guard patrolled a walkway atop the walls, day and night. Build for 10,000, the stockade sometimes held twice that number, and there was a shortage of tents and food. Not surprisingly, the tension between prisoners and guard was extreme.

Prince, now a commissary sergeant, was likely spared the worst of this posting as well as the rigors of the regiment's return to the field in March of 1865 to participate in the closing campaign near Richmond and Petersburg. Even so, he fell ill soon after victory, and on the way to the regiment's new posting in Clarksville, Texas, he was admitted to the Corps d'Afrique USA General Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana, on July 8. He never recovered sufficiently to rejoin the regiment. Transferred on September 19, 1865 to De Camp USA General Hospital, David's Island, New York, he was mustered out October 9, 1865.

This was not the end of Prince's service, however. When Congress authorized the creation of four regiments of "Colored Troops" for the regular army, recruiters actively sought out Civil War veterans, and Prince made an excellent candidate. His service record was unblemished. Had he not been literate, it's doubtful he would have been promoted to sergeant in the 5th at muster in and then assigned to the commissary. But with the Civil War's almost 200 Colored Regiments reduced to six, the need for sergeants was drastically reduced, and Prince enlisted on September 13, 1867, in the 39th Infantry Regiment (later consolidated with the 40th into the 25th) at the reduced rank of private.

The information in his enlistment document reflects the ease with which a misunderstanding can occur between enrolling officer and recruit as well as the sometimes insurmountable challenges such misunderstandings have created for researchers.

"Hawaii" should be in the section of "place of birth." Instead, it's "Albany, New York." Likely, Prince had been working in that city and given it in response to the query, "Where are you from ?" The age, "28," occupation, "barber," and general physical description match the two-time veteran. What remains open for interpretation is the "yellow" complexion, which could connote a light skinned person of color or jaundice or a lingering malaise.

Whatever the case, Prince seems to have served the full three-year term. But he died less than two years later on March 30, 1872. Since was buried initially at Fort Griffin, Texas, then reentered on May 11 at the San Antonio National Cemetery, he apparently remained in the state where he'd been discharged. Health permitting, he might have reenlisted. Or he could have been at the fort as a civilian barber or in some other capacity.

Indisputable is his commitment to honorable service. ++++++++ Caption: Days after Prince mustered in, the regiment assembled within the forts that defended the Union capital of Washington. Here they received arms before joining the fight for the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. (142)

Caption: At Point Lookout, Maryland, the 5th guarded Confederate prisoners in a stockade that sometimes imprisoned twice as many men as it was designed to hold. Food and shelter were in short supply. Tensions ran high. (144)

Caption: After the war, Prince was part of the frontier army. The men of these primarily African American regiments became known as "Buffalo Soldiers." (145)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ McCunn 2015, pp. 142–145.
  2. ^ Kuykendall 1953, pp. 57–66.
  3. ^ Schmitt 1998, pp. 171–172.
  4. ^ Manning & Vance 2014, pp. 145–170.
  5. ^ a b Okihiro 2015, pp. 88–89.
  6. ^ a b c Vance, Justin W.; Manning, Anita (October 2012). "The Effects of the American Civil War on Hawai'i and the Pacific World". World History Connected. 9 (3). Champaign, IL: University of Illinois.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  7. ^ Raphael-Hernandez & Steen 2006, p. 321.
  8. ^ "Soldier Details". National Park Service. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  9. ^ Foenander, Terry; Milligan, Edward; et al. (March 2015). "Hawaiians in the Civil War" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  10. ^ Foenander, Terry; Milligan, Edward; et al. (March 2015). "Asians and Pacific Island in the Civil War" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  11. ^ Bautista 2002, p. 241.
  12. ^ Mercene 2007, p. 47.
  13. ^ Burlingame, Burl (August 26, 2008). "Civil War database lists soldiers and sailors from isles". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Honolulu.
  14. ^ Hawaiʻi Men in the U.S. Civil War, Part 2 (PDF). Vol. 20. Honolulu: Honolulu County Genealogical Society. September–October 2011. pp. 4–7. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  15. ^ Smith, Jeffrey Allen (August 13, 2013). "The Civil War and Hawaii". The New York Times: Opinionator. New York.
  16. ^ Cole, William (May 31, 2010). "Native Hawaiians served on both sides during Civil War". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Honolulu.
  17. ^ "Memorial Plaque". Hawaiʻi Sons of the Civil War. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  18. ^ Manning & Vance 2015, pp. 161–163.
  19. ^ Davis, Chelsea (October 26, 2014). "Hawaiian Civil War soldier finally recognized". Hawaii News Show.
  20. ^ Punaboy (June 20, 2015). "Hawai'i Sons of the Civil War". Aloha Valley. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  21. ^ Cox 2013, pp. 41–42.
  22. ^ a b Massachusetts 1933, p. 492.
  23. ^ Dyer 1908, p. 1240.

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