Foreword by Dr. Frank Smith, Founding Director, African American Civil War Museum.
This solved mystery will be of interest to Civil War 'buffs' looking for a brand new story as well as to descendants of Civil War veterans. For many African Americans, being able to call ancestral names brings a kind of closure to us, who during slavery, were counted as 3/5 of a person. Two young runaway slaves from Edenton, N.C., enlisted in the Union Army under the surname 'Patience.' The elder Thomas joined the 5th MA Colored Cavalry while the younger Crowder joined the 103rd PA Infantry. After the war, Thomas returned to North Carolina while Crowder went with his regiment to Pennsylvania, never to meet again. Not until 2000 when the author, Crowder's descendant, discovered Thomas' name inscribed on the Wall of Honor in Washington, D.C., was it known that two Patiences had served during the Civil War. Are they brothers? This question was answered in 2018 through 23andMe DNA reports. Not only that, an amazing 'WOW ' moment is in store for interested sleuths. May readers of other ethnicities be so inspired, they will want to call the names of their unknown ancestors, too.