William King 
1826–September 23, 1915 Civil War
William King (1826–September 23, 1915) 
By Emily Hemann 
William King, a man who had been enslaved for thirty-two years before serving in the Civil War, passed away on September 23, 1915, after a long illness. Seven years prior, he was admitted to the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Leavenworth, Kansas, though after about a year he started receiving a pension of thirty dollars a month, and King moved to  Fort Scott, Kansas. His obituary noted that while he had many living children, he had not seen  any of them in more than thirty years.1 

Biographical information about King’s life is sparse, in part because he lived in Fort Scott less than a decade, leaving few clues as to how he moved to Kansas. He was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama around 1830, perhaps on a tobacco plantation.2 In November of 1863, King enlisted in the Union army. On December 24 that same year, at Clarkesville, Tennessee, he mustered into Company D of the 16th United States Colored Infantry as a sergeant. His muster roll puts him at thirty-two years of age.3 As officers were required to be able to read and write, it is likely he had those abilities prior to enlistment. King mustered out on April 30, 1866, in Nashville when his service expired.4 Afterwards, he purportedly enlisted again in a cavalry regiment, passing as a white man until he was found to be African American and he was  discharged.5 

It is unclear what King did following the war, though he may have stayed in Tennessee.  He married at some point and was widowed by 1910, though he may have been a widower much sooner.6 He came to Fort Scott around 1909, where he lived with Levi and Letha Keller, the latter  of whom was probably his niece.7 Although King had little family in Fort Scott, he became part of the community. He is described as “a devout member of the A. M. E. church” and people  remembered his tales of living in enslavement and being a Union soldier. 

This biography was completed as part of the Veterans Legacy Grant Program by Emily Hemann for the Veteran Voices from the Heartland 2023-2024 grant under the direction of Dr. Jon Taylor, University of Central Missouri.8  

1 “Death of William King,” Fort Scott Tribune and the Fort Scott Monitor, September 28, 1915, p. 4,  https://www.newspapers.com/image/60144267/?fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlL XZpZXctaWQiOjYwMTQ0MjY3LCJpYXQiOjE3MTQ2OTk3MjksImV4cCI6MTcxNDc4NjEyOX0.9mLTHYxcv O9PIsrEbV0KbKVjRH27xOacjakZueQvxZs. 
2 Company Descriptive Book,  
“US, Civil War Service Records (CMSR) - Union - Colored Troops 14th-19th Infantry, 1861-1865,” Fold3.com,  https://www.fold3.com/image/263384013/king-william-page-2-us-civil-war-service-records-cmsr-union-colored troops-14th-19th-infantry-1861-1. 

3 Company Muster-In Roll, “US, Civil War Service Records (CMSR) - Union - Colored Troops 14th-19th Infantry,  1861-1865,” Fold3.com, https://www.fold3.com/image/263384025/king-william-page-3-us-civil-war-service records-cmsr-union-colored-troops-14th-19th-infantry-1861-1. 

4 Company Muster-Out Roll, “US, Civil War Service Records (CMSR) - Union - Colored Troops 14th-19th Infantry,  1861-1865,” Fold3.com, https://www.fold3.com/image/263384169/king-william-page-16-us-civil-war-service records-cmsr-union-colored-troops-14th-19th-infantry-1861-. 

5 “Death of William King,” Fort Scott Tribune and the Fort Scott Monitor. 

6 William King, 1910 United States Federal Census, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui content/view/7833242:7884. 

7 William King, 1910 United States Federal Census; William King, “U.S., National Homes for Disabled Volunteer  Soldiers, 1866-1938,” Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/340341:1200. 

8 “Death of William King,” Fort Scott Tribune and the Fort Scott Monitor; Fort Scott Tribune and The Fort Scott  Monitor, September 28, 1915,  
https://www.newspapers.com/image/60144262/?fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlL XZpZXctaWQiOjYwMTQ0MjYyLCJpYXQiOjE3MTQ3MDA0OTMsImV4cCI6MTcxNDc4Njg5M30.X3ji3R34P 1Q6VjdWCY-TgKwVd2s6Mf1EBm52ephmWFE.


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