Willis Carr
Sergeant Willis Carr (born c. 1824) fought for the Union during the Civil War with the United States Colored Troops.[1] Sergeant Carr was profiled by the University of Virginia's John L. Nau III Center for Civil War History in 2017, as part of their Black Virginians in Blue digital project.
Carr was born around 1824 in Albemarle County. Historians are unsure whether he was free or enslaved, but he did join the Union army at age 40. Willis enlisted in New Orleans on October 28, 1864, for a period of three years. His enlistment papers list his occupation as laborer and describe him as 5 feet, 3 inches tall, with black hair, black eyes, and a black complexion.[1] He mustered into Company H of the 10th USCT Heavy Artillery Regiment about two weeks later, on November 15, 1864, and was promoted from private to sergeant on the same day.[1]
Carr's regiment served on garrison duty at New Orleans and in the Department of the Gulf for the entirety of its service. Willis and his regiment mustered out on February 22, 1867, near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Carr never filed a pension, and the details of his post-war life are unknown.[1]