Natchez Colored Troops committee announces t-shirt fundraising campaign

By Roscoe Barnes III
Natchez, MS, USA / ListenUpYall.com
Nov 7, 2024 | 11:27 AM

Showing off t-shirts for the Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument. Pictured from left are Lynsey Gilbert, interim director of Visit Natchez; Mallory Meng, community and programs manager for Visit Natchez; and Robert Pernell, chairman of the Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument Committee. (Click on image to enlarge.)

NATCHEZ, Miss. — The Natchez U.S. Colored Troops Monument Committee is selling t-shirts to raise funds for the monument that will honor more than 8,000 Black men who served at Fort McPherson in Natchez during the Civil War.

The shirts are available for purchase at the Historic Natchez Foundation at 108 S. Commerce St. The cost is $20 for sizes small, medium, and large; and $23 for sizes 2X and 3X.

The shirts are off-white and feature an image of the proposed monument — with three members of the Colored Troops — on the back side. The committee’s logo is displayed on the front.

“This is one of several things we’re doing to raise money for this important monument,” said Robert Pernell, who chairs the committee for the monument. “This is a community endeavor that will be part of the local landscape for generations to come. We believe it will serve to educate and inspire our local citizens and the people who come to Natchez from all over the world.”

Pernell said he is excited about the shirts and he believes those who purchase them will love the design.

The estimated cost of the monument is $1.09 million, according to Pernell. Sculptor Thomas Jay Warren of Warren Sculpture Studios in Oregon is the official designer of the project.

In addition to selling shirts, the monument committee continues to seek donations through businesses, church groups, civil clubs, and individuals. The committee is also researching funding opportunities through grants, Pernell said.

The monument will be located on the north end of the Bluff at the corner of Madison and North Broadway streets. It will feature the names of the Colored Troops that served with six regiments. These regiments include: 6th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery, 58th U.S. Colored Infantry, 70th U.S. Colored Infantry, 71st U.S. Colored Infantry, 63rd U.S. Colored Infantry, and the 64th U.S. Colored Infantry. The list of names will include those who served in the Navy who were born in Natchez.

The selected names were provided by Dr. Frank Smith and the African American Civil War Museum, where he serves as founding director.

For more information on this fundraising campaign, call 601-442-2500.