“Mr. Qualls, who is a one armed veteran…colored citizen”

James H. Qualls, the soldier
In late October 1864, the men in the 27th United States Colored Infantry (USCI) participated in their second battle while serving in the Army of the Potomac’s IX Corps. Both Col. Albert M. Blackman and Lt. Col. John W. Donnellan were injured on the first day of fighting along Boydton Plank Road in the battle of Hatcher’s Run, Virginia (October 27-28, 1864). Fifteen soldiers from the regiment were killed or wounded, including seventeen-year-old James H. Qualls from Jackson County, Ohio.
Qualls enlisted at Berlin Crossroads, where he lived with his Virginia-born parents, Arthur and Lucy (Shepperd) .… Read more