Christian Fleetwood, Civil War Hero

Christian Abraham Fleetwood was born July 21, 1840 in Baltimore, Maryland to free Blacks Charles and Anna Marie Fleetwood.

He was educated first in the home of a wealthy sugar merchant, later in the office of the secretary of the Maryland Colonization Society andthen while traveling to Liberia and Sierra Leone. Fleetwood graduated from the Ashmun Institute which is now Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. Upon return to Baltimore, he was one of a group to publish the Lyceum Observer , perhaps the first Negro newspaper in the South Atlantic states.When trade with Liberia was disrupted due to the Civil War, Fleetwood enlisted in the Union Army in August of 1863.

Fleetwood saw service in North Carolina and Virginia with the 3rd Division and received the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism in the battle of Chaffin's Farm near Richmond, Virginia in 1864. Every officer of the regiment signed petitions for him to be commissioned an officer but Secretary of War Scranton was not  inclined to change the regulations denying commissions to Black soldiers.

After being honorably discharged  in May 1866, he worked as a bookkeeper in Ohio, held various positions in a bank and the War Department in Washington, D.C. Fleetwood organized a cadet corps which became the Sixth Battalion of the District of Columbia's National Guard in 1887. He was appointed major and commanding officer. In 1891, some of the Black battalions were consolidated into the First Separate Battalion but Fleetwood was not named its commanding officer. He resigned in 1892.

Fleetwood had also organized the Colored High School Cadet Corps of the District of Columbia in 1888 which  offered military science instruction. He served until 1897 as instructor then was succeeded by Major Arthur Brooks. Many of the young men who took part in this corps enlisted in World War I and several commissioned at the Colored Officers Training Camp in Fort Des Moines, Iowa.

Although Fleetwood never returned to active duty, he was recommended to be appointed commander for the 50th U.S. Colored Volunteer Infantry during the Spanish-American War. Neither this request nor the participation of colored solders was taken seriously by the War Department.

Outside of his military related activities, Fleetwood and his wife, the former Sara Iredell, led an active social life interacting with prominent Blacks of the period. He also served as choirmaster of Presbyterian, Episcopal and  Baptist Churches. Although, an application for army pension stated he was deaf in his left ear due to an ailment contracted while in service. His musical presentations were well attended and supported by community members such as wives of former presidents Hayes and Cleveland.

Fleetwood's interest in military matters was documented in a pamphlet The Negro as a Soldier ; published for  the Negro Congress at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia in 1895. The document lists participation, testimony and exploits of soldiers of African Descent in the Revolutionary, 1812 and Civil Wars.

Christian Fleetwood died of heart failure in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 18, 1918.