Private Paul Robinson

Pvt. Paul Robinson

Private Paul Robinson was born c.1837 in Franklin County, Virginia and enlisted into the 5th United States Colored Infantry Company A in Mahoning County, Ohio, on July 20, 1863, for a term of three years. At the time of enlistment, he was described as 26 years old, 6’0” tall with a black complexion. His occupation was listed as farmer. Robinson’s name was incorrectly listed as “Paul Robertson” on early muster rolls before being clarified with the note “name previously written Robertson by mistake.” Robinson was listed as free from April 19, 1861, the start of the Civil War. In census records and pension files, the names Robertson and Robinson are used interchangeably, with identities verified through association with other family members. However, late in his life, there appears a real signature for Paul, using the name Paul Robinson.

According to affidavits contained in pension records for Paul, he had friends in the Youngstown and Warren communities of Ohio (Mahoning County) prior to the Civil War. This part of Ohio is considered part of Appalachia, at the base of the western slopes of the Appalachian Mountains. It is believed by some, though not fully documented, that this mountain range provided an escape route, or underground railroad, for enslaved people in the south. Paul Robinson may have left Virginia and found a home in Ohio among a tightknit community of Free Blacks when in his late teens.

Paul Robinson and his friend Benjamin Scott enlisted together in Ohio and were sent to Norfolk, Virginia, with their regiment in November of 1863. The unit moved frequently, holding posts in Petersburg, Goldsboro, and Carolina City, among other places, while moving through Virginia and the Carolinas. While in service, the men were engaged in the siege of Petersburg, Virginia, from June 15, 1864, until December 7, 1864.

During the night of September 28, 1864, the 5th USCT crossed this pontoon bridge over the James River at Deep Bottom, Virginia, about a mile south of New Market Heights. Private Robinson was wounded on September 29, 1864, at the battle of New Market Heights near Petersburg. As part of Company A, Paul would have been in the front ranks as the 5th USCT charged on the Confederate positions along New Market Road at 7:30 am.

The attack on the Confederate positions along the New Market Heights Road was part of General U.S. Grant’s strategy to divert Rebel troops from Petersburg, weakening Confederate defenses at this important supply hub. Gen. Benjamin Butler was the commanding officer over the units responsible for the assault on the Confederates. From a record of his orders, we know what Private Robinson was carrying with him when he was wounded:

“As so much depends upon the celerity of movement, and the distance over which we are to move is so short, the troops will leave everything behind except a single blanket rolled over their shoulders, and haversack with three (3) days’ cooked rations and sixty (60) rounds of cartridge in their cartridge boxes and on their persons. All tents, camp equipage, and cooking utensils are to be left behind. No wagon will be allowed to cross the river without orders from these headquarters. The wagon trains, however, will be supplied with six (6) days’ Rations and half forage for the same time and forty (40) rounds of extra ammunition per man, ready to start as soon as ordered”. – Orders Prior to the Battle of New Market Heights, from Butler’s Book, by General Benjamin Butler.

The Battle of New Market Heights was a victory for the Union. Soldiers wounded during the Battle of New Market Heights were treated at the 10th Corp Hospital, set up on Jones Neck across the river from Deep Bottom. Among those treating the wounded soldiers was Clara Barton, who later founded the American Red Cross.

In pension records, Pvt Robertson shared the story of his friend Pvt Scott losing two fingers in an accident during the construction of that pontoon bridge. In January 1865, the 5th USC Infantry moved from Fort Monroe in Virginia to Wilmington, North Carolina, with the objective of capturing Fort Fisher on the coast. Paul described this as a march, during which he contracted “rheumatism” (possibly rheumatic fever which led to heart disease). A record in his file contradicts this account, saying the move was made by “transport.” Fort Fisher was captured and Pvt Robinson was hospitalized in North Carolina at about that time. Robinson’s regiment mustered out on Sept 20, 1866, and the soldiers were officially discharged on October 11, 1866, in Columbus, Ohio.

The 5th USCT Infantry’s original strength was 941 but mustered out with only 322 soldiers. Only one of three soldiers of the regiment survived the war. Both Pvt Paul Robinson and his friend Pvt Ben Scott survived and returned to families in Youngstown, Ohio, where they remained friends, their families close.

While Benjamin Scott and his wife Permelia had seven children, two sons and five daughters, Paul and his wife Margaret Dosile did not appear to have any children. Margaret died in 1874. Benjamin Scott died in 1878, and a few months later, his widow, with those seven children, married Paul. Permelia and Paul had a daughter, Eve (1879), and a son Harry J. Robinson (1880) and remained together until Paul’s death in 1907 at age 70.

From 1877 until 1893, Paul struggled with the Dept of the Interior to obtain a pension for disability. He suffered primarily from heart disease according to medical records. He was tall and thin, weighing only 152 lbs. at 6 feet tall. He lived with his son Harry and wife Permelia in Youngstown, Ohio, when he died April 9, 1907. In the census for 1910, Harry is named as head of the household, which included his mother Permelia, his half-brother Eugene Scott, sister-in-law Ethel Scott and niece Katherine, and half-sister Minnie Robertson. Harry is described as a single laborer who built awnings and was able to read and write.

Contributors: John Wood, Sarah Plummer, Alexis Cunningham, Toni Smith and Cathie Cummins