This Veterans’ Day, I’d like to remember Calvin Freeman. I know he was a Milliken’s Bend veteran, and served with the 11th Louisiana Infantry, African Descent (later renamed the 49th U.S. Colored Infantry). But that’s about all I know. I want to learn more. Come with me, and let’s meet this American veteran.

Freeman’s military service record is online at the National Archives, and it’s a good place to start. Here, we learn that he was 35 years old when he enlisted, was 5 feet 8 inches tall, of brown complexion, with brown eyes and black hair. By occupation, he was a painter, and he was born in Rockford County, North Carolina. He enlisted on May 16, 1863 at Jackson, Mississippi. He was mustered in to Company I on June 4, 1863 with the rank of corporal – just three days before the battle of Milliken’s Bend. Scarcely more than a month later, on July 13, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant, after another man had been reduced in rank. Over a year later, he would suffer the same fate as his predecessor. It’s unclear why, but on November 2, 1864, he was reduced to the rank of private by his commanding officer, Col. Van E. Young. Freeman would hold that rank until the end of his service, when he was mustered out on March 22, 1866.

The most fascinating thing to me, though – is that when he left the service, he took his rifle musket, accoutrements, knapsack, haversack, and canteen with him. The very notion of a black man in Mississippi in 1866 carrying his musket home with him speaks volumes. About his pride in his military service. About the hardships and even hatred he would likely face as he continued to defend his freedom. I’m just getting to know this man, but I want to learn more.

So let’s look at the 1890 veterans census and see if we can find out more.

There he is! The index on HeritageQuest has his last name as “Preeman” – but it must be him. He served in the 49th U.S. Colored Infantry, and the dates of service match. Interestingly, out of the ten veterans listed on the page – he has the greatest length of service of anyone: 2 years, 10 months, and 10 days.

What else do we learn? By 1890, he was living in Charleston, Missouri. It’s hard to know if the marks for Henry Fisher and Jerry Brown, which follow Freeman’s entry, are ditto marks, indicating they served in the same unit, or simply a dash showing that they were unable to provide the information (or that the census take was unable to obtain the information from whomever he was asking) – but Spencer Rivers said he served with the “9th Regt. of Col. Troops” – which might be an indication that he served in the 9th Louisiana Infantry, African Descent. But I will leave those questions and those individuals to be researched further. I’m still wanting to learn more about Calvin Freeman.

Now that I know he ended up in Missouri in 1890, let me see if I can backtrack a little. Here – the 1880 Federal census for Mississippi County, Missouri.

He is age 52 living with his wife, Louisa, age 45. A man named Laws or Louis Campbell is living with them as a boarder and laborer. Calvin is a farmer (likely indicating he owned land) and both he and his parents were born in Missouri (in contrast to his muster roll which stated he was born in North Carolina). His wife and her parents were born in Mississippi.

Now, I feel like I’m really getting to know this man! Let’s see if we can find him in 1870. Sure enough! Here he is, living in the state of Mississippi, in the same locale as where he enlisted, Hinds County.

He appears to be already married to his wife, Louisa, and they have several others living with them, although their relationship is not stated. The fact that Green Freeman was also born in Missouri may hint that he could be Calvin’s brother. Both men have $160 in personal estate – a remarkable sum when you consider they were farm laborers, in a former slave state whose economy was run down due to the war which had ended just five years before. That modest-appearing sum of $160, in today’s money, would come in at about $4000!

So I will leave Calvin Freeman’s journey there, for now. There’s clearly more to his story, and one that I hope I can return to in the future. This man had guts and gumption – and was committed all along to making a better life for his family. He fought for his freedom, during and after the war.

This Veterans’ Day, remember Calvin Freeman and the countless others like him.