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Lawrence County Union Soldier
Hiram H. Allison
109th
US Colored Infantry
Hiram H. Allison, a Lawrence Co. slave, was one of
23,703 blacks from Kentucky who enlisted in the Union
Army.
"Uncle Hi" as he was known, was slave of John Allison,
Sr. a rich landowner of the valley when it was still a
part of Virginia. When Hi was in his early teens he was
given to Mary Adeline Allison (John Sr.'s daughter) and
Dr. Judge John Clayton, Sr. as a wedding present. "Hi"
lived with them until he was told that he was
free.
Having heard that "Mr. Lincoln" was calling for Negro
volunteers, Hiram decided to join the Union Army. At the
time, the 109th US Colored Infantry [USCI], which had
been organized at Louisville, KY on July 5, 1864, was
stationed at Louisa, KY. "Uncle Hi", with a white
recruiter, rode through Lawrence County telling the
slaves that they were free and asking them to join the
Union forces.
At the end of August 1864, several of the 109th
captains, lieutenants and a few privates were mustered
in at the end of August 1864, but Hiram was not among
them.
Yet, when the 109th USCI was ordered to depart Louisa in
October 1864 in order to join Army of the Potomac before
Petersburg and Richmond, Va., Hiram left with the
regiment and was finally mustered in as private, Co. H,
on October 24, 1864, while at Baltimore, MD.
The 109th USCI witnessed the fall of Petersburg,
participated in the pursuit of Lee in April 1865 and was
present at Appomattox Court House when Lee surrendered
his army, April 9, 1865. Despite the end of the war, the
109th USCI did not immediately return home but embarked
for Texas as part of an American build-up intended to
discourage French operations in Mexico. The 109th USCI
operated along the Rio Grande, Texas, until March, 1866.
The regiment was finally mustered out at Louisville, KY
on March 21, 1866.
"Uncle Hi" made his way back to Louisa and went to the
Clayton farm, about six miles from Louisa, and asked to
be taken in. The family very graciously did take him in
this time, not as a slave but as a member of the
family.
Soon after returning he found that his sweetheart of
slave days, Susan Wallace, had gone to Pomeroy, Ohio, so
he set out to find her and bring her back as his wife.
(Hiram (Hi) Allison and Susan Wallace were the first
legally married Negroes in Lawrence County after the
Civil War.)
"Uncle Hi" worked in 188? for Sam S. Vinson and
Brothers, and later for Colonel Jay H. Northup hauling
timber. He also worked for R.L. Vinson, until he passed
away on July 29, 1927. Hiram H. Allison is buried in the
Wallace Cemetery, Louisa, behind the Labe Wallace Farm,
1 mile out on Rt. 32. His grave marker indicates his
service in the 109th USCI.
Hiram H. Allison's name is also displayed on the African
American Civil War Memorial in Washington, DC, Plaque
Number D-105.
Researched and compiled by Marlitta H. Perkins
[September 2002].
Sources
Adjutant General's Report of Kentucky, Union
Forces
Civil War Soldier and Sailors Database [USNPS]
Dyer's Compendium
The Salt Water Branch Hangings, (article published
in The Big Sandy News, written by Emily G.
Swetnam, February 1959
John M. Trowbridge,
Kentucky's United States Colored
Troops
Lawrence Co. Cemeteries, Vol. 5, 1999; Mary Ellen
Reed / Beulah M. Greene / Stephanie A.
Adkins
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