Charles Hicks was born enslaved to a large landowner named Page, of Wrightsville, on 7 July 1838, and was first known as Charles Page. Though largely unknown today, he was well-known by veterans of both sides of the Civil War during his lifetime through his involvement in veterans groups. Modern scholarship makes it clear that enslaved men didn’t “volunteer” for service for the Confederacy, though quite a few assisted their enslavers on the battlefield. As a result, it has been suggested that Mr. Hicks “served” the Confederacy. Since he was personally proud of his superlative achievement, I will not malign that fact, but he had no choice. He has often been held up as an example of Black support for the Confederacy, and but I believe the full story should be available.

Charles’s first enslaver was known for his cruelty and his early years were difficult. Page sold Charles to to James Henry Hicks in 1860, at which time he became Charles Hicks. According to Findagrave, Charles went off to war as a servant with his owner’s son, Lt. James H. Hicks Jr., in 1861. Lt. Hicks served with the 14th Georgia, under the command of Robert E. Lee and he and Charles were present at Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and Cold Harbor. When Lt. Hicks was wounded in 1864, he and Charles returned to Georgia. Soon thereafter, Hicks went back to Virginia, leaving Charles behind.

The details aren’t clear, but Charles left the farm in Johnson County and was intercepted by Union troops and conscripted into the 110th United States Colored Volunteer Infantry. This unit served with Sherman during the occupation of Savannah. Upon his release from service, Hicks, by now a free man, returned to Johnson County and lived for a time near his old master. He moved to a farm near Lyons in the 1890s. He was granted a federal pension in 1912 and traveled the next year to the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg as an honorary member of the United Confederate Veterans. He returned in 1938 for the 75th anniversary. He was also a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Union equivalent of the Confederate association, and attended numerous reunions over the years.

He established the first known school for Black children in Toombs County in the early 1930s, donated the land for and was very active in Jordan Stream Baptist Church, where the school was located. According to his obituary, Hicks “was a substantial landowner and operated his farm until after he was a hundred years old when sons gave him such assistance as he needed…”

He was memorialized on the African-American Civil War Memorial in Washington in 1998. I hope this man, who was a shining example of reconciliation and was a living embodiment of the Civil War, is better remembered today. [His family operates an excellent website about his life, but I’m unable to share at the moment because of certificate issues. I’ll update when the certificate is clear; it’s likely a temporary issue.]

This slab at the foot of his grave reads: In Memory of Charles Hicks Who Served in Co. F. 14th GA Inf Reg CSA AND Co C 110th U S Colored Vol Infantry – 1861-1866 – Only Georgia Veteran Known To Be a Member of Both the United Confederate Veterans and Grand Army of the Republic Organizations. It’s probably that there were a few other Black men who “served” both sides, but it’s understood that he was the only one in Georgia.