Thomas Morris Chester: Black Civil War Correspondent

Thomas Morris Chester was the third child of George and Jane Chester, born in Harrisburg on May 11, 1834. He died in Harrisburg, Pa., Sept. 30, 1892, aged 58 and was buried in Harrisburg Lincoln Cemetery.

Inheriting his mother’s courage, he created his legacy through the pursuit of knowledge and black liberation.

He went to Liberia, where he instructed a colony of Africans recaptured from American slavers. He returned to America in 1861, and assisted in the enlistment of black soldiers in the 54th and 55th Massachusetts regiments. He was the war correspondent, with the army of the James and Potomac, of the Philadelphia Press. In 1866 he visited Europe and passed the winter in Russia, where he was a guest of Alexander II, on the occasion of a review of forty thousand troops in St. Petersburg. He afterwards visited Denmark, Sweden, Saxony and England. He studied law at Middle Temple Inn, London, and was admitted to the English bar in 1870, becoming the first black lawyer in England. He returned to America in 1871 and settled in Louisiana, where he practiced law and was a vital force in the establishment of schools for the education of black people. He commanded the Louisiana guard, a militia regiment. In 1873 he was appointed U. S. commissioner, serving until 1879. In 1884 he became president of the Wilmington, Wrightsville and Onslow railroad in North Carolina.

Originally posted on Facebook on 2/15/22 by Destyni Cruz

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