Mathias Price (b. circa
1841 - d. 1926)
MSA SC 3520-6763
USCT Soldier, Talbot County, Maryland
Biography:
Mathias Price was free born in Talbot County, Maryland around 1841.1 Price was unsure of his birth date because his house in Talbot County burned down while he was serving in the war and the family bible, containing his birth date, was located within that house.2 Price seemed to think he was 22 years old when he enlisted on November 27, 1863.3 Not only was his age in question, but also his place of birth. He was recorded on the bounty rolls as being free and credited to Calvert County, Maryland.4 His service record also shows him being from Calvert County, Maryland.5 However, in a pension document, Price stated he was married in Talbot County on April 27, 1862 by Pastor Harvill to Mrs. Ida Densmore Hawkins.6 His daughter, Emma Price, was the informant for his death record and she stated that he was born in Talbot County, Maryland.7 Being a free man, it is possible that he moved from Talbot County to Calvert County before the war. The service record for Price noted that he was "free on or before Apl.17/61" which presumably enabled him to earn $300.00 as a soldier in the Union army.8
Price enlisted as a private on November 26, 1863 in Company I of the 9th U.S. Colored Troops regiment at Lower Marlbrough, Calvert County, Maryland.9 The 9th regiment formed in November 1863 and began training at Camp Stanton.10 While at Camp Stanton, the soldier's drilled everyday, policed the quarters, participated in practice skirmishes, built parapets, and had weapons training.11 They eventually left the camp in the spring of 1864 for Port Royal, South Carolina.12 They were ordered to participate in guard duty at Hilton Head, South Carolina where the army had an ammunition dump.13 From July 7-9 of 1864, the 9th regiment fought at John's Island, South Carolina.14 In the latter part of July, they moved north to the Bermuda Hundred in Virginia and they proceeded into battle at Fussel's Mills, Virginia.15 From there, they proceeded to fight in the Siege of Petersburg and at the battle of Gilmer.16
In February of 1865, he received a gunshot wound to his left hand in action around Fort Harrison, Virginia.17 After the war, the 9th USCT were transferred to Brazos-Santiago, Texas on July 1, 1865, then to Brownsville.18 They then went to New Orleans, and Greenville, Louisiana, where they made their Camp.19 It was in Louisiana that they received orders to report back to Baltimore for final pay and to be discharged on November 10, 1866.20 On January 10, 1866, Price was discharged from Hicks General Hospital in Baltimore after having his two of his fingers amputated.21
After serving for two years, one month, and fifteen days, he moved to Baltimore, Maryland where he and Ida had seven children together: Richard, William, Laura, Berdie, Viola, Jerome, and Emma.22 His son, Jerome Price, served as a private in the 371th Infantry Co. J during World War I.23 While in Baltimore, Mathias Price was employed as a laborer.24 He had several residences including, 229 North Dallas Street, 1632 Mullikan Street, 216 North Central Avenue, 208 North Wolf Street, 811 McDonough Street, and 14 Horn Street.25 Price was pensioned for the gunshot wound to his left "with the loss of index and second fingers and resulting neuralgia."26 He first began earning a pension for the gunshot wound on January 14, 1867 at a rate of $4.00 per month.27 That amount increased to $8.00 per month from April 3, 1884 for the wound, and then to $12.00 from October 1, 1890 "for resulting neuralgia."28 In 1916, he was earning $30 per month, then increased to $40 per month in 1918, then $50 in May of 1920, and finally to $72 a month in September of 1920.29
Throughout the 65 years of living in Baltimore, he suffered from paralysis, rheumatism, and blindness requiring him to have a personal aid.30 Those injuries were the consequences of the war, but he was able to help achieve freedom for African-Americans by volunteering to fight for the U.S. Army. After living for approximately 86 years, Mathias Price died on August 31, 1926 from "organic disease of the heart and kidneys."31 His residence at death was 1416 East Lexington Street.32 On September 2, 1926, three days after his death, he was buried at Asbury Cemetery.33
10. Agnes Kane Callum, Colored Volunteers of Maryland, Bounty Records of 9th Regiment United States Colored Troops: 1863-1866 (Baltimore, Maryland: Mullac Publisher, 1998), 1.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
16. Ibid.
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, Mathias Price. Page 95.
18. Callum, Colored Volunteers of Maryland, Bounty Records of 9th Regiment United States Colored Troops, 1.
19. Ibid.
21. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, Mathias Price. Pages 56, 58.
22. Ibid., 39.
23. Ibid., 63.
24. Ibid., 122.
25. Ibid., 68, 69, 80, 85, 91, 92.
26. Ibid., 88.
27. Ibid., 86.
28. Ibid.
29. Ibid., 51.
30. Ibid., 128.
31. BALTIMORE
CITY HEALTH DEPARTMENT
BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS (Death Record) Mathias
Price. [MSA CE1132-163].
32. Ibid.
33. Ibid.
Researched and Written by Tanner Sparks, 2012.
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