During the Civil War, many African-American men escaped slavery to become soldiers in the U.S. Army. In Giles County, the U.S. Army organized the 110th and 111th Regiment U.S. Colored Troops in late 1863 and early 1864. Most of the soldiers in these units had lived their entire lives in slavery, and most came from Giles County, while others came from neighboring Tennessee counties or northern counties of Alabama and Mississippi. Because the U.S. Army controlled Giles County for most of the war, the 110th and 111th U.S.C.T. became a critical part of United States success there, especially by protecting the Nashville Decatur Railroad and the Columbia Turnpike in Pulaski and Giles County. These local U.S. Colored Troops served alongside other U.S.C.T. regiments and white U.S. Army units sent from across the country to defend against Confederate forces, including soldiers stationed at the encampment on Fort Hill in North Pulaski under Colonel Eli Lilly of the 9th Indian Calvary. After losses at Athens and Sulphur Creek Trestle, Alabama, in late 1864, these units helped defend Pulaski against Nathan B. Forrest's Confederate forces. Elements of these regiments also served with distinction at the Battle of Nashville and in U.S. General William T. Sherman's campaign in Georgia. Some soldiers of the 110th and 111th suffered and died in Confederate captivity, especially as prisoners of war in Mobile, Alabama. After the Civil War officially ended in April 1865, many of these U.S.C.T. soldiers continued serving in the area while Tennessee transitioned back into the United States, and later many veterans remained in Pulaski and Giles County, where some became prominent African-American community members, church leaders, and educators who helped shape the county.