Name/Title
Lawson Coffee Discharge PapersEntry/Object ID
D.0016aDescription
United States Army discharge papers for Lawson CoffeeContext
Enslaved in Florence, Coffee escaped slavery to fight for the 110th Regiment United States Colored Troops during the Civil War. This document is Coffee’s discharge from the army.
The 110th was stationed in north Alabama and Tennessee, guarding railroad lines for the U.S. Army and discharged from the army at Huntsville in 1866.
Coffee actually served in the Pioneer Corps of the 2nd Division of the 16th Army Corps. The Pioneer Corps was responsible for making roads, building bridges, staying in front of the army to ensure the main body of soldiers could move quickly and easily between locations.