📅 This Day in African American History
From African Descent to United States Colored Troops
August 12, 2026 · 5 min read
On August 12, 1863, the 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment (African Descent) was organized in St. Louis, Missouri, for service in the Union Army. Less than a year later, it would become the 56th United States Colored Infantry — a story of renamed regiments, preserved records, and the descendants who still search for them.
On August 12, 1863, as the Civil War raged across the nation, another chapter in the long struggle for Black freedom was taking shape.
In St. Louis, Missouri, the 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment (African Descent) was organized for service in the Union Army. Many of the men who filled its ranks were formerly enslaved. They entered military service at a moment when the meaning of the Civil War itself was changing — and when Black men were increasingly taking an active role in securing freedom through military service.
Less than a year later, on March 11, 1864, the regiment received a new designation: The 56th United States Colored Infantry.
Before They Were Called the USCT
The name change tells an important story.
The War Department established the Bureau of Colored Troops in May 1863 to organize African American military service more systematically. During this transitional period, Black regiments could appear in military records under designations such as “African Descent” before later becoming part of the United States Colored Troops.
The 3rd Arkansas Infantry (African Descent) was one of those regiments. After its organization, the regiment was ordered to Helena, Arkansas, where its soldiers performed post and garrison duty. Early in their service, the men were also heavily assigned to fatigue and manual labor — a reminder that Black soldiers had to fight not only the Confederacy, but also discriminatory assumptions about what roles they should be permitted to perform within the Union Army.
Yet they remained soldiers. And their service continued.
Becoming the 56th USCT
On March 11, 1864, the regiment officially became the 56th United States Colored Infantry.
The 56th served primarily in Arkansas. Its service included action at Indian Bay, Muffleton Lodge and Wallace’s Ferry, as well as expeditions along the White River and into Mississippi.
Their service did not end when the Civil War ended. The regiment remained on duty in Arkansas into 1866 and was finally mustered out on September 15, 1866.
The cost of that service was substantial. National Park Service records indicate that the regiment lost 674 men during its service. Twenty-five officers and enlisted men were killed or mortally wounded, while an extraordinary 649 died from disease.
“Behind every one of those numbers was a name, a family and a story.”
Why This Matters
The history of the 56th USCT demonstrates why preserving Black military history requires looking beyond the names by which regiments are best remembered.
A descendant searching only for the 56th United States Colored Infantry could easily overlook earlier records identifying the same military organization as the 3rd Arkansas Infantry (African Descent). That distinction matters. Names changed. Regiments were redesignated. Records were scattered among military, pension, census and archival collections. An ancestor may appear under different military designations at different points in his service.
Understanding those changes can be the difference between reaching a genealogical dead end and rediscovering an ancestor’s story.
Remembering the Men Behind the Regiment
The soldiers who entered service in 1863 could not know how future generations would remember them. They could not know that military records bearing their names would one day help descendants reconstruct family histories. They could not know that more than 160 years later, people would still search for them.
But the records survived. And because they survived, their stories can be recovered.
At Descendants of Heritage and Freedom, we believe that Black patriots and soldiers of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars deserve to be remembered not simply as military units or statistics, but as individuals whose courage became part of America’s history.
“The regiment’s name changed. Their service did not. Their legacy remains.”
Research Note for Descendants
If you believe an ancestor served with the United States Colored Troops, do not limit your search to a single regiment name. Look for:
• Earlier state or regional designations • Regiments identified as “African Descent” • Later USCT regiment numbers • Compiled Military Service Records • Pension files • Freedmen’s Bureau records • Federal census records • Local and state archives
A change in a regiment’s name may provide the clue that connects one generation of your family history to another.
Sources
National Park Service — Civil War Battle Unit Details: 56th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry.
Encyclopedia of Arkansas: Third Arkansas Infantry Regiment (African Descent), also designated the Fifty-Sixth United States Colored Troops.
“Preserving the names. Honoring the service. Continuing the legacy. — Descendants of Heritage and Freedom”
Recommended Reading
- A Grand Army of Black Men: Letters from African-American Soldiers in the Union Army, 1861–1865 by Edwin S. Redkey
- Freedom by the Sword: The U.S. Colored Troops, 1862–1867 by William A. Dobak
- Black Military Experience in the American West by John M. Carroll (ed.)
Inspired by this story?