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The monument to the United States Colored Troops is at Stop Three on the Petersburg National Battlefield Eastern Front Auto Tour. It is on the east side of the parking area along the Meade Station Trail.
On June 15, 1864 this was the site of the first large-scale attack by African-American troops in Virignia, when 3,500 men captured Confederate Battery Number 9, six cannon and dozens of prisoners.
In May of 1863 the United States Army began recruiting African-Americans into regiments that would be officially designated as “United States Colored Troops.” By the end of the war 178,000 men served in 175 regiments representing all branches of the service, making up about ten percent of the army.
The fighting around Petersburg was one of the largest campaigns for United States Colored Troops in the Civil War. They had a large presence starting with the initial attacks that overran the eastern edge of the Dimmock Line in June, through the Battle of the Crater, and to the final collapse of the Confederate defenses when they were among the first United States troops to enter Petersburg and Richmond.
From the marker:
U.S. Colored Troops
In memory of
the valorous service of Regiments
and Companies
of the U.S. Colored Troops
Army of the James
and Army of the Potomac
Siege of Petersburg
1864 – 65