Nelson Wright
Private Nelson Wright was born around 1845 in Albemarle County. He worked as a farmer before the Civil War. He enlisted in the Union army in Petersburg, Virginia, on April 14, 1865, mustering into Company I of the 117th USCT Infantry Regiment on April 20 of that year. His enlistment records describe him as 5 feet, 1 inch tall, with black hair, black eyes, and a black complexion. He deserted from the regiment on June 1, 1865, at Camp Lincoln, Virginia.[1]
Wright may have returned to Albemarle County after the war. The 1880 census lists a Nelson Wright living in Rivanna, Virginia, with his wife, six children, and a stepdaughter. No other details of his postwar life have been found.[1]
Private Wright was profiled by the University of Virginia's John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History in 2017, as part of their Black Virginians in Blue digital project.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Web. Nelson Wright (117th USCT), Website, John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History: Black Virginians in Blue, April 12, 2021, retrieved July 28, 2021.