Welcome to the 1st SCV Digital Archive!
The 1st South Carolina Volunteers, later the 33rd U.S. Colored Troops, was among if not the first regiment of U.S. soldiers comprised of formerly enslaved African Americans. It's likely you've heard of the 54th Massachussetts, the subject of the film Glory. This site aims to give the 1st SCV the honor and attention that they, too, deserve.
This story, however, does not begin and end with the Civil War. The 1st SCV was headquartered in Beaufort, South Carolina, the site of the Port Royal Experiment. The families of many 1st SCV soldiers experienced landownership for the first time and learned to read and write from Northern missionaries, black and white. Many veterans remained in the area after the war and advocated for equal rights during Reconstruction. Others, however, witnessed Reconstruction's violent end.
The history of the 1st South Carolina is not past. Students in Beaufort worked to uncover their stories, incorporating this history lesson into their curriculum. Descendants still live near the Sea Islands, and we cannot wait to spread their stories and share what we know. It is our hope that this site serves not just as an archive for materials related to the 1st South Carolina, but also a collection of student and community work on race, citizenship, and democracy.
Featured Item
Susie King Taylor, known as the first American Army Nurse
Susie King Taylor served as a nurse in the 33rd USCT for three years, while simultaneously working as a laundress and teaching children and soldiers…
Featured Collection
Esther Hill Hawks Papers
Correspondence relating to the work of Esther Hill Hawks and her husband, J.M. Hawks, in caring for sick and wounded soldiers, especially African…
Featured Exhibit
Recently Added Items
Freedom by the Sword: The U.S. Colored Troops, 1862-1867
The U.S. Army has uploaded the book in its entirety to its website. This scholarly work explores the USCT as a whole during this period.
Radical Members of the South Carolina Legislature
A collage of 64 members of the 1868 South Carolina legislature. They are dubbed "Radical" and attention is brought to their earnings and literacy in…
The Freed Blacks of South Carolina: Letter from Mr. J.M. McKim to Stephen Colwell, Esq. Chairman of the Port Royal Relief Committee
In this clipping from the abolitionist newspaper, Prince Rivers is quoted and Robert and Hannah Smalls are mentioned.