Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)

Jesse Hayes (b. circa 1840 - d. ?)
MSA SC 3520-5016
USCT Soldier, Dorchester County, Maryland

Biography:

    Jesse Hayes was born a slave in Dorchester County, Maryland around 1840. 1  As a slave, Hayes was owned by Pritchett Meredith, a prominent farmer living near Cambridge in Dorchester County. 2  Meredith owned around 24 slaves and out of those 24, only two enlisted in the United States Colored Troops. 3  These two men were Jesse and Hanable Hayes, presumably brothers considering Jesse was 27 years old and Hanable was 28. 4  Both men enlisted in the 7th U.S. Colored Troops regiment with Meredith being compensated $100 for each of his lost slaves. 5

    The Bureau of Colored Troops was established on May 22, 1863 and on September 11, 1863, the War Department Adjutant General's Office gave permission to Colonel Birney to raise a regiment of Colored troops. 6  This regiment became known as the 7th United Stated Colored Troops. 7  Jesse Hayes was able to enlist in Baltimore on May 27, 1863 as a private  in Company E of the 7th regiment . 8  Colonel William Birney enlisted him to serve for a term of three years. 9  At the age of 23, Jesse Hayes was officially mustered in to the army on September 26, 1863. 10  

    His service record states that he was "slightly wounded in the engagement on John's Island, S.C. July 9, 1864." 11  Jesse was "also present at the engagement at Deep Bottom, VA. August 15, 1864." 12  The 7th regiment participated in numerous battles and skirmishes in which were a contributing factor in winning the war.  Some battles included, Cedar Creek, Florida, Camp Melton, Florida, White Point, South Carolina, Petersburg, Virginia, Fort Gilmer, Virginia, Fort Burnham, Virginia, and Appotmattox Court House, Virginia, among others. 13

    When the war ended in April 1865, the 7th regiment served out the remainder of their three year enlistments in Indianola, Texas acting as a garrison. 14  The 7th regiment arrived in Indianola on June 23, 1865. 15  While acting as a garrison, the regiment endured significant losses from "the disease of cholera." 16  After completing their three year terms, the regiment finally made their way back to Maryland.  The regiment reached Baltimore on November 4, 1866 and went to Fort Federal Hill. 17  They camped at Fort Federal Hill until they were finally paid for their services and were discharged on November 15, 1866. 18  Hayes was not officially mustered out or discharged until November 16, 1866. 19  After he was discharged, little can be found on his post-war experiences.

Endnotes:

1. Agnes Kane Callum, Colored Volunteers of Maryland, Civil War: 7th Regiment United States Colored Troops 1863-1866 (Baltimore, MD: Mullac Publishers, 1990), 117. 

2. COMPTROLLER OF THE TREASURY (Bounty Rolls) Jesse Hayes, Dates: 1864-1880, Description: Slaves and Owners, by USCT Regiment, 7th Regiment, Dorchester County, Page 154, MSA S629-1-25. 

3. DORCHESTER COUNTY COMMISSIONER OF SLAVE STATISTICS (Slave Statistics) 1867-1868.   (p. 2).

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Callum, Colored Volunteers of Maryland, 1.

7. Ibid.

8. Ancestry.com. National Archives and Records Administration, U.S., Colored Troops Military Service Records, 1861-1865, Record for Jesse Hays, 7th United States Colored Troops, Page 1630.

9. Ibid.

10. L. Allison Wilmer, J. H. Jarrett, and Geo. W. F. Vernon. History and Roster of Maryland Volunteers, War of 1861-65. Vol. 2 (Baltimore, MD: Guggenheimer, Weil & Co., 1899), 170.

11. Ancestry.com. U.S., Colored Troops Military Service Records, Jesse Hays, Page 1630.

12. Ibid.

13. Callum, Colored Volunteers of Maryland, 41.

14. Ibid., 34.

15. Wilmer, History and Roster of Maryland Volunteers, 158.

16. Ibid.

17. Ibid.

18. Ibid.

19. Ibid., 170.

Written and Researched by Tanner Sparks, 2012.

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