Their Story
Louis (Lewis) Moxley was born in Wilson, Kentucky about 1841. When he was Twenty-three-year-old Lewis Moxley ran away from slavery in Nelson County, Kentucky[1]. He came to Moline, Illinois by the Underground Railroad. He was listed among the “Depot Recruits”, a group of men who were recruited in Rock Island County, Illinois. These men escaped slavery and came to Rock Island and Moline Illinois before the 108th Infantry Regiment (USCT) arrived at Rock Island.[2]
After arriving at Rock Island in September 1864, the officers of the Regiment started looking for replacements for men who had succumbed to disease or were killed in the “Owensboro Raid”. In the area around Rock Island, he found some men who had come from Kentucky via the Underground Railroad and taken up residence in Rock Island County.
These men may have known members of the 108th since they all came from Kentucky, in any case the ex- slaves were ready to join the Army[3].
Lt. Col. John S. Bishop, the Commanding Officer of 108th Infantry Regiment and his executive officer Maj. A. J. Krause took these men along with other white recruits to Quincy, Illinois to a mustering station. The whites were taken into the Army, but Bishop was told that there was no place for the Blacks. Krause enlisted the men in Quincy on October 1st, 1864. This allowed Bishop to request transportation for the new enlistees and took the men to a place he was very familiar with, Camp Butler, outside Springfield, Illinois. There the men were mustered into the 108th Infantry Regiment (USCT) and were paid a bounty of $100.00 each[4].
The new recruits were taken back to Rock Island and assigned to the various companies. The Citizens of Moline, Illinois had raised a fund to pay a bounty to Moline residents who joined the Army or Navy. Maj. Krause collected the Bounty and paid the men. The bounty was $400 per man. This was an unheard-of sum in 1864, especially to ex-slaves who never had money, let alone $500[5].
Private Moxley was assigned to Company I. His entry in the Regimental Descriptive Book could be that of any of hundreds of the members of the Regiments. His occupation was listed as Farmer. His record does not show any noteworthy entries except that he was admitted to the Rock Island Post Hospital. Private Moxley is one of fifty members of the 108th Infantry buried at Rock Island National Cemetery.[6]
The 108th Infantry regiment was ordered to leave Rock Island and proceed to Vicksburg, Mississippi, but Pvt. Moxley was too ill to travel, and died on May 16th, 1865, just one day after the order to leave Rock Island was given. Private Louis Moxley is buried at Rock Island National Cemetery, in grave 291, in the old section of the cemetery[7].
[1] Fold3 Civil War Service Records (CMSR) – Union – Colored Troops 56th-138th Infantry, Compiled Military Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served the United States Colored Troops: 56th-138th USCT Infantry, 1864-1866. Accessed 5/23/2023.
[2] The Road to Freedom A History of the 108th Infantry Regiment (USCT) by Edwin Reiter published 2015.
[3] IBID
[4] IBID
[5] IBID
[6] Fold3 Civil War Service Records (CMSR) – Union – Colored Troops 56th-138th Infantry, Compiled Military Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served the United States Colored Troops: 56th-138th USCT Infantry, 1864-1866. Accessed 5/23/2023.
[7] Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/2892927/louis-moxley: accessed 23 May 2023),