8th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery

During the Civil War, Paducah was the first city in Kentucky where an African American regiment, the 8th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery, was officially organized and credited to the state. Parts of other black regiments were also recruited there, and enslaved people who joined earned their freedom. Paducah was also the site of Fort Anderson, an earthen fort built by Union soldiers. On March 25, 1864, Confederate troops attacked Fort Anderson, whose left flank was located near here, and the 8th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery helped repulse the assault. This unit and other African American regiments recruited in Kentucky and across the nation helped win the war for the Union.

Paducah, Kentucky · United States