9th USCHA

OVERVIEW: Organized at Clarksville and Nashville, Tenn., October 8 to November 1, 1864. Attached to District of Nashville, Dept. of the Cumberland, till May, 1865. Broken up May 5, 1865.

Thus far, only one man from Williamson County has been identified who served in the 9th US Colored Heavy Artillery, Pvt. Isaac Berry.

Pvt. Isaac Berry

Isaac Berry was born in Williamson County, Tennessee around 1835. He was recruited into the 9th US Colored Heavy Artillery by Henry A. Read, a recruiter from the town of Smithville in Chenango County, New York. He was mustered into the army in Nashville on September 21, 1864.

In July 1865, upon the dissolution of the regiment, he was transferred to the 88th US Colored Infantry (New). On January 6, 1866, he was transferred to the 3rd US Colored Heavy Artillery. On February 12, 1866, he was granted a one-month furlough. On April 30, 1866 he mustered out of his regiment in Memphis, Tennessee.

By 1870, he had made his way back to Williamson County where he married Drusilla Smotherman. The couple originally lived and raised a family in District 15 of Williamson County, near Brentwood. Later, they moved to District 5, just north of Franklin where Isaac Berry sharecropped 22 acres.

In 1891, Pvt. Berry filed for an invalid's pension. He appears to have died around 1900. No headstone or burial location has been identified.

Resources:

History of the Ninth U.S.C. Troops, from its Organization till Muster Out. With a list of names of all officers and enlisted men, who ever belonged to the regiment. By Leiut. Col. George M. Dennett. Bethesda, Maryland: University Publications of America, c 1994
Regimental and Company Books of the 9th U.S. Colored Troops Heavy Artillery Regiment

Approved Pension Applications