The 72nd US Colored Infantry had a short and inglorious history. It was organized at Covington, Kentucky beginning in April 18, 1865. However, it failed to organize. The reasons for this failure are unclear -it could have been lack of soldiers or lack of officers to lead the regiment. The regiment was discontinued on May 3, 1865 and its men disbursed to other regiments.

The records for this regiment have not yet been indexed - meaning it is not yet possible to search by location or name. Identifying men in this regiment requires painstaking, page-by-page research of thousdands of documents. It is likely there are many more men with ties to Williamson County, TN who served in this regiment. This is true for all the men who served in the 56th through the 138th US Colored Infantry regiments.

Cpl. Lewis Willis Reese

Only one man with ties to Williamson County has been identified thus far as serving in this regiment. Cpl. Lewis Willis Reese was born in Brentwood, TN. He was about 14 years old when the Civil War began and the US Army occupied Middle Tennessee. According to several records, he became the servant of a white officer,  Major George Hay Arnold of the 24th Ohio Infantry regiment. The teenager cooked for Arnold and cared for his horse.  Arnold was wounded at Shiloh and returned to Cleveland, Ohio to recuperate. It appears that he brought Reese to Ohio with him and left him with a German family to work in their tannery. During this time, Reese learned to read and write English and speak German. When he was 18 years old, Reese joined the 72nd USCI as a recruit in Cleveland, Ohio. On April 12, 1865 - close to the time recognized as the regiment's official inception - Reese was counted on the Company descriptive book in Covington, Kentucky and his complexion was described as "yellow."  By June 1865, he was appointed a corporal of the regiment. 

On July 18, 1865, he was transferred to the 12th US Colored Heavy Artillery Regiment where he spent time garrisoning Camp Nelson - a significant site of African American history during the Civil War. On January 19, 1866, he mustered out of the Army in Louisville, Kentucky. Reese married a white woman in Cleveland, Ohio and settled there to raise a family. He worked as a tanner  and a fireman. Reese died in Cleveland in 1903. His remains are buried in the Riverside Cemetery there. His paver in Veterans Park has been sponsored by Joseph Grosson.

Resources:

• Approved Pension Application File for Elizabeth Moss Biggs, Widow of Randall Biggs, Company C, 72nd USCT Infantry Regiment (Application No. WC110946)