On Memorial Day, we stop to honor and remember the sacrifices of those who died in service to our country. Giles Simms and Fontine Washington* are two of those men.

Both Simms and Washington served in Company F of the 49th U.S. Colored Infantry, a regiment known at the time of Milliken’s Bend as the 11th Louisiana Infantry, African Descent. Both men were Milliken’s Bend veterans. But just a year later, their military service would take an unexpected and ultimately tragic turn.

On June 13, 1864, they and about 15 other men of Captain Joseph P. Hall’s company stacked their arms in protest outside of Capt. Hall’s tent. The previous day, Hall had cleared out a mess from their tents, at the urging of the regimental surgeon, consisting of spoiled food and candles. For the soldiers, this was a last straw. They had apparently clashed with Hall before, and they found his actions to be a disregard for their privacy and their rights as individuals – and free men.

The protest led by Simms and Fontine Washington (who nevertheless still saluted his officer, even as he stacked arms in protest) ultimately led to their court martial, on the charges of “mutiny.” They and the others involved were found guilty and sent to the military prison at Alton, Illinois, where Confederate prisoners of war were also being held. Some of the men were sentenced to hard labor, and most would remain in prison for the duration of their service – until May 1865.

Simms and Washington, however, met the most severe punishment – death by firing squad. Their sentence was carried out on September 24, 1864 at Vicksburg. Their burial site is unknown. They may be among the thousands of unknowns interred at the Vicksburg National Cemetery.

Despite their ignominious fate, they, too, fought for freedom, and literally gave their lives for it. They stood against injustice. They refused to be treated as men humiliated by slavery and subservience. They, and the others who took part in the “mutiny” with them, simply yet forcefully were demanding respect. White officers like Capt. Hall and the others who sat on the court martial, saw the men’s behavior as insubordination and a refusal to follow orders, what might be termed today as “prejudicial against good order and discipline.” Such actions necessitated a stern response, or at least, that’s how the officers no doubt viewed the matter at the time.

But the patriotism of these men, the so-called “mutineers,” really can’t be questioned. The remaining men pled their case to the Secretary of War in 1865: “There is no set of Men More willing to serve the United States Than ourselves & we intended to fight for The country expecting to be treated as human beings”

The stories of Giles Simms and Fontine Washington deserved to be remembered this Memorial Day, just like any soldier who died on the battlefield. They too believed in and fought for freedom; for themselves and their families; for their communities; for all of those who yet remained in bondage in 1863 and 1864. They fought for the dignity and respect of being treated like men, full human beings, not mere servants or chattel. They fought for self-determination and freedom from white men’s control – even those men who were set above them in the military hierarchy of command. Giles Simms and Fontine Washington died in service to their country – and it is because of their sacrifice – and indeed the injustice(s) that they faced – that we must remember them today.

*This man’s name frequently appears in military records as both Fontine Washington and Washington Fontaine. In my 2013 book, I refer to him as Washington Fontaine. However, after careful additional study, it appears that his correct name is Fontine Washington.

Sources: Linda Barnickel, Milliken’s Bend: A Civil War Battle in History and Memory (LSU Press, 2013), p. 154-155; compiled military service records of Giles Simms and Fontine Washington, 49th USCI, accessible through Fold3.com; Ira Berlin, Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation, 1861-1867, Series 2: The Black Military Experience (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1982), p. 459-460.