Also American
Struggle & ResistanceAchievement & Excellence

1864

Zoom out
Achievement · literature
T. Morris Chester Becomes First Black War Correspondent for a Major Daily

Thomas Morris Chester became the first Black war correspondent for a major daily American newspaper when the Philadelphia Press assigned him to cover the Army of the James in 1864. His dispatches from the front lines reported the valor of Black Union troops and the fall of Richmond with precision and eloquence, filing copy from the Confederate president's own chair when Petersburg fell.

Zoom in — months

March 1864
1 entry →
June 1864
1 entry →
September 1864
1 entry →

Key events

  1. September 1864
    T. Morris Chester Becomes First Black War Correspondent for a Major Daily

    Thomas Morris Chester became the first Black war correspondent for a major daily American newspaper when the Philadelphia Press assigned him to cover the Army of the James in 1864. His dispatches from the front lines reported the valor of Black Union troops and the fall of Richmond with precision and eloquence, filing copy from the Confederate president's own chair when Petersburg fell.

  2. June 15, 1864
    Congress Equalizes Pay for Black Union Soldiers

    The 54th Massachusetts and other USCT regiments had refused to accept unequal pay ($10/month vs $13 for white soldiers) since 1863, with some refusing any pay at all. On June 15, 1864, Congress passed legislation equalizing pay and providing retroactive compensation. Sgt. William Walker of the 3rd South Carolina was court-martialed and executed for leading a pay protest in January 1864.

  3. March 1864
    Rebecca Lee Crumpler, first Black woman physician

    Crumpler becomes the first African American woman to earn a US medical degree.