Their Story
Isaac McMerkin was born into slavery in 1846 in Washington County, Kentucky. The record does not show who his owner was, or if he enlisted with the owner’s consent.
Isaac enlisted on July 7, 1864, in Louisville, Kentucky. He was a farmer at the time of his enlistment.[1] He served with Company G ,108th Infantry Regiment USCT), which mustered in on August 22, 1864.[2] His service record shows a different spelling of his name than the one on his headstone. McMichen, McMertin, and McMeekin[3] are names that are used in Pvt. McMerkin’s records. Pvt. McMerkin‘s headstone shows his name as McMerkin, as do most of his military records.
The 108th Infantry Regiment United States Colored Troops (USCT) was a Regiment that consisted mostly of formerly enslaved men from Kentucky, as well as some free black men. After garrison and guard duty at various points in Kentucky, the regiment was transferred by train to Rock Island Prison Barracks on what is today Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, where they served as guards over Confederate prisoners of war.[4] The 108th arrived on the post on Sept. 24, 1864.
Pvt. McMerkin died that same day or the day after, depending on source (September 24, 25, or 26, 1864), in the Rock Island Prison Barracks Post Hospital of a remittent fever,[5] a type or pattern of fever in which temperature does not touch the baseline and remains above normal throughout the day.[6] Fevers due to most infectious diseases are remittent. While at Rock Island, 50 men from the regiment died from various illnesses or infections.[7]
Pvt. McMerkin is buried near the Cannon Memorial in the old southwest section of Rock Island National Cemetery, Grave Number 252. He is also part of the African American Civil War Memorial under the name Issac McMertin.[8] In 2022, the Rock Island Arsenal honored the men from the 108th in a ceremony in June, 15, 2022.[9]
After the Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863, the War Department publicly authorized the recruiting of African Americans. By the end of 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant viewed the African descent population armed with the Proclamation as a “powerful ally.”[10]
African Americans fought in every major campaign and battle during the last two years of the war earning twenty-five Medals of Honor. U.S. Colored Troops regiments captured Charleston, the Cradle of Secession, and Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. Lincoln recognized their contributions. He declared, “Without the military help of the black freedmen, the war against the South could not have been won.” And without the Emancipation Proclamation, these soldiers and sailors would have had little reason to fight for the Union.
I Mcmerkin’s memorial page – Honor Veterans Legacies at VLM (va.gov)
[1] Page 4 Civil War Service Records (CMSR) – Union – Colored Troops 56th-138th Infantry – Fold3
[3] Isaac McMerkin (unknown-1865) – Find a Grave Memorial
[4] Highlighting contributions of the 108th US Colored Troops at Rock Island Arsenal | Article | The United States Army
[5] Page 3 Civil War Service Records (CMSR) – Union – Colored Troops 56th-138th Infantry – Fold3
[6] Remittent fever – Wikipedia
[7] Arsenal honors soldiers from the 108th USCT | OurQuadCities
[8] U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 – Ancestry.com
[9] Arsenal honors soldiers from the 108th USCT | OurQuadCities
References
Wikipedia contributors, “Remittent fever,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Remittent fever – Wikipedia (accessed March 6, 2022).
“Compiled Military Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served the United States Colored Troops: 56th-138th USCT Infantry, 1864-1866” database with images Fold3 Fold3 – Regiment Accessed March 6, 2022)
African American Civil War Museum, Civil War Primer, History of USCT, USCT History (afroamcivilwar.org) (accessed 8/31/2022
Isaac McMerkin (unknown-1865) – Find a Grave Memorial
Page 3 Civil War Service Records (CMSR) – Union – Colored Troops 56th-138th Infantry – Fold3
Page 4 Civil War Service Records (CMSR) – Union – Colored Troops 56th-138th Infantry – Fold3