Many of you have heard about H. K. Edgerton, an African American heritage activist. Some people celebrate him, some people ridicule him, some people attack him. Frankly, I don’t care. What Mr. Edgerton believes and what he wants to do is up to him, and, no, I have no problem with his charging fees to appear at various functions. If someone’s willing to pay, that’s their business, and I’m sure they get what they pay for.
But there is something about Mr. Edgerton that causes me to scratch my head. It’s this …
… and this …
… and this …
You see, H. K. Edgerton often portrays a Confederate artillery sergeant.
I’m unaware of any African Americans who actually served in the Confederate army as sergeants in the artillery. Yes, I have heard one Confederate heritage enthusiast claim that there was an entire regiment of black Confederate cooks, but this is a little different.
Has anyone come across evidence of African Americans in Confederate military service with the rank of sergeant in the artillery?
Of course, one could point out that this is not the only uniform Mr. Edgerton uses, and they would be right. Indeed, in the other images I’ve seen, I haven’t seen him give himself rank. Have you?
Moreover, one could argue that this is a case where Mr. Edgerton is in fact portraying a black slave (perhaps an officer’s servant) who appropriated the shell jacket in the aftermath of a battle in which its original wearer sacrificed all for the cause. But I haven’t seen that case made.
Even Dixie Outfitters features Mr. Edgerton in his sergeant’s artillery shell jacket. It also draws upon that image for a rather confused t-shirt image:
Here we have a black Confederate artillery non-commissioned officer marching as an infantryman. Whatever.
So, what are we to make of this?
I confess I do not know. But I know it could be worse. Take this image of Mr. Edgerton … note any other non-standard issue items of apparel?
I thought you could.
Crossroads 
“I prayed for freedom for twenty years, but received no answer until I prayed with my legs.” – -Frederick Douglass
bright colors for added effect.
“Has anyone come across evidence of African Americans in Confederate military service with the rank of sergeant in the artillery?”
No.
I have found a few accounts of the unit(s) organized by Majors Turner and Pegram describing black NCOs but these were infantry. Blue would be the appropriate trim.
Steve Perry/”Uncle Steve Eberhart” wore a gray coat with red artillery trim when he appeared at Confederate reunions, but he’d been a servant to an actual Confederate artilleryman during the war, and so there was a connection there. But Perry/Eberhart never claimed rank or status as a soldier.
In the last one, he appears to be posing as a private in the North Korean Army.
A couple things I see not only with HK but all Civil War living history types both confederate and Union, They all look to well feed and way to clean 🙂
“Gun after gun was silenced and abandoned…every embrasure within
range of a thousand yards was silent,” Colonel Ripley proudly wrote
of their efforts, adding that Berdan’s men also suppressed Rebel
small-arms fire. “The rebel infantry,” he wrote, “which at first
responded with a vigorous fire, found that exposure of a head meant
grave danger, if not death.”
As Ripley stated, deadly shots from the sharpshooters made manning
the Confederate defenses dangerous work. In response, it seems some
Southern troops then resorted to a desperate tactic. “They forced
their negroes to load their cannon,” an officer in the 1st U.S.S.S.
sadly noted. “They shot them if they would not load the cannon, and
we shot them if they did.”
Killers in Green Coats
Civil War Times,February 20, 2008
Suggested word balloon for the second photo: “YOU SHAAALLLLL NOOOOOT PAAAAAAASS!”
–ML
Facebook keeps suggesting that I befriend “Sergeant” Edgerton. I have opted not too. Although I have to admit, I would like to hear him speak one day in person – I am more interested in the crowd response than anything else.
As long as he stands and fights by our side, he can wear any kind of Confederate uniform he wishes. My only regret is that there are no more of all races willing to stand by us and do what is right. I don’t think he meant to be reenacting, just showing solidarity.
Mr. Lovejoy,
As I have stated in many of the reenactments I participated in to those who were always harping about authenticity, “All the real authentics are dead and buried and have been for the last 150 years.”
Let’s say that Mr. Edgerton was Asian-American. Would we have the same reaction? Isn’t this just pretend–like cross-dressing for Halloween? I know the symbolism goes a lot deeper than that, as it should, but perhaps Mr. E. just likes the pretty colors and looks of this costume and flag more than the one belonging to the Union??? And since he does get paid . . . perhaps that’s additional motivation to wear the Confederate uniform. I mean a vegetarian might wear a cow costume in front of an Arby’s roast beef shop if the pay was good enough . . .
I believe Mr. Edgerton’s belief in what he says and does is sincere.
Fun fact: that first image used to feature prominently on a website selling weed. It was subsequently removed, presumably at Edgerton’s request; undoubtedly it was harshing his mellow.
hahahahahaha – hashing indeed.
Way too funny for mere words. 🙂
there are acounts of black confederates written by union soldiers here is one from stones river tennessee “We moved upon the enemy’s works at first we wrere hardly ment with bullets but with in a few minutes it seemed the firey gates of hell opend up I saw a number of negro soldiers that belonged to the enemy! and I can say with the upmost certainty that they fought like hell” PVT Nithanle Goodwin 28th Ohio U.S.A
And yet somehow their white Confederate comrades had nothing to say about such gallantry. That’s a disgrace, isn’t it?
A pal of mine at work met a black Civil War re-enactor at Grant’s Tomb during the celebrations for his birthday, and the re-enactor said that he’d been part of Pickett’s Charge in the filming of the movie “Gettysburg.”
My pal did a double-take and said, “Wait a second. I don’t know a diplomatic way to say this, but your melanin content makes you an unlikely member of Pickett’s Division.”
The re-enactor laughed and explained that for the mass charge scene, the filmmakers needed every man possible to storm the Bloody Angle. Our man simply avoided being in any close-ups. He said it was an interesting experience, nonetheless.