Charles Tilghman (b.
circa 1841 - d. 1906)
MSA SC 3520-4663
USCT Soldier, Talbot County, Maryland
Biography:
Charles Tilghman was born a slave around 1841 in St. Michael's, Talbot County, Maryland.1 His parents were Charles Tilghman and Harriett Murphy.2 As a slave, he was owned by James B. Adams, a property owner near Royal Oak in the St. Michael's District of Talbot County.3 The Civil War had been under way for two years before slaves would get the chance to fight for their freedom. Abraham Lincoln enacted the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 calling for volunteers to join the Union cause.4 Tilghman enlisted at Baltimore, Maryland on September 23, 1863 in Company B of the 7th U.S. Colored Troops regiment.5 With Tilghman's enlistment in the Union army, Adams received a bounty payment of $100.00 on May 25, 1865 as compensation for the loss of his slave.6
During his service time, he became well-acquainted with John C. Kineyea and George Cooper, as they both served in the same company and regiment.7 Kineyea testified that Tilghman suffered from "typhoid fever, which affected his back and chest" at Benedict, Maryland in December 1864, then "later while on the boat from Benedict to Jacksonville, Fla. he contracted mumps which settled in his privates, he went to hospital again."8 Cooper's testimony was the same as Kineyea's as they were confirming the various ailments that Tilghman suffered from during the war.9 Despite these ailments, Tilghman was promoted to corporal on June 12, 1866.10 The 7th U.S. Colored Troops fought in numerous skirmishes and battles, which included Baldwin, Florida, Jacksonville, Florida, White Point, South Carolina, Petersburg, Virginia, and Appomattox Court House in Virginia.11 From April 1865 until October 1866, the 7th regiment fulfilled their three year terms by acting as a garrison in Texas.12 After suffering throughout much of the war, Tilghman was honorably discharged on October 13, 1866 while in Indianola, Texas.13
After his discharge, Charles Tilghman permanently moved to Baltimore, Maryland where he would serve as a "driver" and "light labor."14 He resided at several locations in Baltimore, including 522 Oxford Street, 507 Oxford Street, 530 Oxford Street, and 706 Tessier Street.15 Soon after the war, he married Sarah Elizabeth Moore on June 18, 1868 in Baltimore, Maryland.16 They were married by Reverend Henry Hutton with the marriage being recorded in the court of common pleas.17 The couple had four children together: Albert (1874), Isaiah (1876), James Thomas (1879), Jeanette (1885).18 In 1880, Tilghman was a wagon driver, while his wife, Sarah, kept the house.19 The household also contained Chas. E., Albert W., Isaiah, Emma J., Henry Moore, and James Moore.20 Henry and James Moore were presumably relatives of Sarah since her maiden name was Moore.
By 1890, the ramifications of the war were beginning to take their toll on Tilghman while he was living at 435 Little Monument Street in Baltimore, Maryland.21 He suffered with an eye infection, disease of the stomach, typhoid fever, and rheumatism.22 In 1900, Tilghman was renting a house on Oxford Street and a laborer by occupation.23 He was residing with his wife, Sarah, who was a laundress, and their four children, Wm. A., Isaih, James, and Jinnette.24 They were also housing five boarders with three being from Virginia.25
On October 19, 1901, Tilghman had a medical examination in which he described having "severe pains all over me from rheumatism, contracted in service. Cannot do any work from weakness."26 On July 21, 1897, Tilghman was being paid $6.00 per month from "rupture or swelling of right testicle, disease of back, or kidneys, rheumatism, and disease of heart, stomach, and eyes."27 He was pensioned for his "partial inability to earn support."28 On October 3, 1905, Tilghman commenced receiving a monthly pension rate of $10.00 for the same ailments.29 Two months later, on December 4, 1905, he was last paid a monthly pension before passing away a month later.30 After living in Baltimore for over 40 years, Charles Tilghman died at his residence on 507 Oxford Street on January 12, 1906.31 The cause of death was listed as "carcinoma of stomach."32 He was subsequently buried at the Loudon Park National Cemetery on January 16, 1906.33 After his death, Sarah was supported under his pension at a rate of $8.00 per month, which commenced on January 16, 1906.34
For a visual representation of Charles Tilghman's journey from slavery to freedom, click here. Users must have access to Google Earth in order to utilize this file, which includes landmarks(pins) in Tilghman's life from circa 1845 to 1906. You may take the tour and investigate individual sites under the "Places" tab on the left of the screen, or you may navigate using the slider and cursor on the map itself.11. Callum, Colored Volunteers of Maryland, 41.
12. Ibid., 34.
14. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, Charles Tilghman, Pages 33, 131.
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid., 23.
20. Ibid.
22. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, Charles Tilghman, Page 124.
24. Ibid.
25. Ibid.
26. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, Charles Tilghman, Page 124.
27. Ibid., 63.
28. Ibid., 22.
29. Ibid., 54.
30. Ibid., 10.
31. BALTIMORE CITY HEALTH DEPARTMENT BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS (Death Record) Charles Tilghman. [MSA CM1132-89].
32. Ibid.
33. Ibid.
34. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, Charles Tilghman, Page 22.
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