William Gould (W.G.) Raymond (1819–1893), a pastor, chaplain and American soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War, played a prominent role in the initial recruitment of the first federal African American regiments of the Union Army. In the period between the Emancipation Proclamation and the establishment of the Bureau of Colored Troops in 1863, Raymond, along with J.D. Turner, received authorization from President Abraham Lincoln to recruit and command the first federal African-American Union Army troops from the District of Columbia. Prior to this, African-American troops were raised at the state level only, without the direct authorization of Lincoln. The troops recruited by Raymond and Turner would become the 1st United States Colored Infantry Regiment and the first regiment of the United States Colored Troops (U.S.C.T), enduring threats and significant obstacles, but ultimately serving with distinction.
Education
Raymond attended Hamilton Literary & Theological Institution (now Colgate University), New York.
Career
Minister
Raymond was ordained into the Baptist ministry in 1843, and he served several years for congregations in New York and Pennsylvania.
Civil War Chaplain
In 1861, he enlisted with the 86th New York Volunteer Infantry ("Steuben Rangers"), Co. H, Elmira, New York and commissioned 1st Lieutenant on October 7, 1861. President Abraham Lincoln appointed him to Chaplain of the United States Hospital, Washington, D.C., on July 25, 1862. He was honorably discharged on April 13, 1863.
Proposal for Colored Troops
In April, 1863, W. G. Raymond, with J.D. Turner of Pennsylvania, also a chaplain, requested authorization from President Abraham Lincoln to raise the first federal regiment of African-American soldier volunteers for the Union Army, District of Columbia. Both Raymond and Turner were white. Increasing numbers of African-Americans and freedmen were eager to join the Union Army and to fight. Up to that point, regiments of African-American troops had been raised at the state level only, without the direct authorization of President Lincoln.
In his letters to Lincoln, Raymond stated that he was “…anxious to put down the rebellion”, and that he had secured a petition signed by leading African-Americans in the city in support of the plan. He also advised Lincoln that the plan had been submitted to Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. In Turner's letter to Lincoln he stressed his commitment to the Republican Party and his earnest interest in elevating oppressed African-Americans.
Lincoln's evolution from initially opposing then ultimately embracing the recruitment of federal African-American Union troops was gradual. Post the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1 of that year, Lincoln still harbored concerns that ranged from the tactically political to the mistreatment and executions of former slaves captured as prisoners of war as Union soldiers. Frederick Douglass, a former slave and African-American intellectual and activist, relentlessly pressured Lincoln to change his position. Members of Lincoln's circle, including Senator Charles Sumner, as well the generals in the field, encouraged him to support the recruitment of African-American troops. Secretary Stanton had also been a consistent advocate.
Raymond and Turner persisted in their efforts to raise the 1st United States Colored Infantry in Washington, D.C., and provided Lincoln with strong personal references and support from Senators Henry Wilson and Charles Sumner, both of Massachusetts, Senator Ira Harris of New York and Governor Alexander Ramsey of Minnesota, among others.
Reverend Henry McNeal Turner, pastor of Israel Bethel AME Church, the second largest African-American church in the District of Columbia, was also an early and passionate supporter of African-American Union Army enlistment.
Recruitment
In early May 1863, Lincoln agreed to the establishment of federal African-American regiments in the Union Army and through Secretary of War Edwin Stanton authorized Raymond and Turner to commence recruitment for the District of Columbia regiment. Lincoln provided assurances that when recruitment reached 640 men, the regiment would be accepted for service. J.D. Turner would be colonel of the regiment with Raymond serving as lieutenant colonel.
Regiment recruitment quickly rose with the Rev. Henry M. Turner offering his church as a recruiting center. In anticipation of potential trouble, regiments from Massachusetts were brought in to provide protection for the recruitment meetings.