About This Book

An Escaped Slave who Fought for the Union and Whose Wartime Heroism was Finally Recognized with the Nation’s Highest Honor for Military Valor

In 1862, Andrew “Andy” Jackson Smith, son of a white landowner and enslaved woman, es­caped to Union troops operating in Kentucky, made his way to the North, and volunteered for the 55th Massachusetts, one of the newly formed African American regiments. The regiment was deployed to South Carolina, and during a desperate assault on a Confederate battery, the color bearer was killed. Before the flag was lost, Smith quickly retrieved it and under heavy fire held the colors steady while the decimated regiment withdrew. The regiment’s commanding officer pro­moted Smith to color sergeant and wrote him a commendation for both saving the regimental flag and bravery under fire. Honorably discharged, Smith returned to Kentucky, where over the course of the next forty years he invested in land. In the early twentieth century, Burt G. Wilder, medical officer of the 55th, contacted Smith about his experiences for a book he was writing. During their correspondence, Wilder realized Smith was eligible for the nation’s highest award. In 1916, Wilder applied to the army, but his request for Smith’s medal was denied due to the “absence of records.” At Smith’s death in 1932, his daughter Caruth received a box of his papers revealing the extent of her father’s heroism. Her nephew took up the cause and through long and painstaking research located the lost records. With the help of historians, local politicians, and others, Andrew Jackson Smith received his long overdue Medal of Honor in 2001.

In Carrying the Colors: The Life and Legacy of Medal of Honor Recipient Andrew Jackson Smith, the riveting journey from slavery to a White House ceremony is revealed, with the indomitable spirit of Smith—slave, soldier, landowner, father—mirrored by the dogged pursuit of his grandson and his allies in the quest to discover the truth about an American who dedicated his life to the service of his community and country.

W. Robert Beckman has taught history for more than two decades at Dunlap High School, one of Illinois’s leading public schools. He earned an MS in history from Illinois State University and received the Helen Cavanaugh Award for Best Master’s Thesis in US History.

Sharon S. MacDonald is professor emerita of history at Illinois State University specializing in American Civil War military history. She earned her doctorate in history from the University of Minnesota. MacDonald and Beckman were the historical advisors to Andrew Jackson Smith’s family for the purpose of obtaining the reversal of the denial of Sergeant Smith’s recommendation for the Medal of Honor.

Praise for Carrying the Colors:

“This book is one of the best biographies of an individual USCT soldier to reach the market in recent memory. It is very readable, well documented, and hard to put down. . . . This book is highly recommended for any Civil War enthusiast, especially those with an interest in the contributions of black soldiers to the Union victory.”—Civil War News

“This is a tale of courage, perseverance, and virtue rewarded. Authors Beckman and MacDonald are to be commended for having done a marvelous job in presenting all the details of Smith’s career, both military and civilian. The tale of the efforts to preserve Smith’s legacy is as intriguing to learn about as are the exploits of his military career. Anyone can enjoy this detective story about ‘this decent person whose memory was respected and even cherished within his community.’”—Journal of America’s Military Past

“The story takes you back to walk along with Andrew Jackson Smith as a slave, escaping from slavery, as a soldier, ‘the perfect type of soldier in al respects,’ as a family man and as a businessman. His ability to become a successful business man in the Jim Crow South is fascinating, as are the relationships he develops with white and black people he encounters. He was a gentleman throughout his life. This is well worth the time to read.”—QBR, the Black Book Review

“Carrying the Colors is the thrilling story of a heroic man from Kentucky’s Ohio River Valley who survived enslaved life to become a Civil War hero and successful entrepreneur. The bookis a testimony to the ways in which our most important and inspiring American histories are often hidden, preserved only through the careful work of families who have refused to allow their ancestors’ lives to go unknown. Carrying the Colors breaks myths about the Civil War, giving a moving account of those who risked their lives for the noblest of causes—to make all Americans free.”—Anna-Lisa Cox, Non-Resident Fellow at the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, Harvard Universityand author of The Bone and Sinew of the Land: America’s Forgotten Black Pioneers and the Struggle for Equality

“Andrew Jackson Smith lived a life that embodied the word written in bold next to his name on the rolls of the 55th Massachusetts Regiment: FREE. Carrying the Colors is much more than a Civil War story—it’s an engaging tribute to Smith’s remarkable journey from slave to soldier and a remembrance of thousands of other forgotten soldiers like him. Through impressive research and insightful prose, Beckman and MacDonald have crafted a compelling portrait of an American hero.”—Russell S. Bonds, author of Stealing the General: The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor

“Beckman and MacDonald tell the fascinating and riveting story of Smith’s rise from laboring as a slave in Kentucky, to distinguishing himself in the Civil War, to establishing a successful middle-class life, and, finally, to receiving the Medal of Honor. Deeply researched and beautifully written, Carrying the Colors chronicles race as a salient and destructive force in American life, but so too the inspiring power of commitment, determination, and pride.”—John David Smith, author of Lincoln and the U.S. Colored Troops