In this interview, the 109-year-old Mrs. Ercelle Chillis of James Island, Charleston County, South Carolina shared stories about her family's history and her life. Her interview opens with the story of her birth during a horrific South Carolina hurricane. She also shared the story of how her paternal grandfather walked with his family from Alabama to Charleston in the 1870s in a bid to hire a boat that would take him and his family to Africa!
96-year-old educator and Civil Rights worker Mrs. Jennie Mae Jefferson was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and raised in Berkeley County, South Carolina.
Regiment: USS New Hampshire
Company: Not listed
Rank: Landsman
Mustered-in date and place: August 1864
Mustered-out date and place: March 1865 at Port Royal, South Carolina, United States
Regiment: 103rd United States Colored Troops Infantry
Company: D
Rank: Private
Mustered-in date and place: 4 March 1865 at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, United States
Mustered-out date and place: 16 July 1865 at Beaufort, South Carolina, United States
Regiment: 104th United States Colored Troops
Company: A
Rank: Private
Mustered-in date and place: 1 April 1865 at Beaufort, South Carolina, United States
Mustered-out date and place: 5 February 1866 at Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, South Carolina
Regiment: 123rd United States Colored Infantry
Company: D
Rank: Corporal
Enrollment date and place: 24 September 1864 at Camp Nelson, Jessamine County, Kentucky, United States
Veteran's death date and place: 17 July 1865 in Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Regiment: 107th United States Colored Troops Infantry
Company: B
Rank: Private
Enrollment date and place: 30 June 1864 in Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Veteran's death date and place: Fort Monroe, Hampton, Virginia, United States
Regiment: 34th United States Colored Troops
Company: H
Rank: Private
Mustered-in date and place: 1 June 1863 in Beaufort, South Carolina, United States
Mustered-out date and place: 28 February 1866 at Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Regiment: 125th United States Colored Troops Infantry
Company: E
Rank: Private
Enrollment date and place: Not listed
Veteran's death date and place: Not listed
Regiment: 123rd United States Colored Troops Infantry
Company: B
Rank: Private
Enrollment date and place: 21 July 1864
Veteran's death date and place: 27 October 1865 in Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Regiment: 46th United States Colored Troops
Company: K
Rank: Private
Mustered-in date and place: 10 August 1863 in Port Hudson, Louisiana, United States
Mustered-out date and place: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Regiment: 34th USCT
Company: G
Rank: Corporal
Mustered-in date and place: 1 June 1863 in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States
Mustered-out date and place: 28 February 1866 at Jacksonville, Florida, United States
Regiment: 116th United States Colored Troops Infantry
Company: E
Rank: Private
Enrollment date and place: 26 June 1864 at Fort Monroe, Virginia, United States
Mustered out date: 18 June 1865
Veteran's death date and place: 28 December 1865 in Pulaski County, Kentucky, United States
Regiment: 117th United States Colored Troops Infantry
Company: A
Rank: Private
Mustered in date and place: 13 July 1864 in Covington, Kentucky, United States
Veteran's death date and place: 15 February 1865 in Point of Rock Hospital, Virginia, United States
Regiment: 100th United States Colored Troops Infantry
Company: I
Rank: Private
Mustered in date and place: 25 January 1864 in Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Mustered out date and place: 26 December 1864
Veteran's death date and place: 4 September 1864 (missing and reported dead after an attack in rural Tennessee)