NATCHEZ, Miss. – When Jeff Mansell embarked on a research journey in 2024 to learn more about the U.S. Colored Troops, he wanted to determine their connection to Natchez when they were enslaved.
“We had hoped that in their pension applications, veterans or their widows would mention the Forks of the Road, and they did,” Mansell recalled.
The records revealed not only their ties to Natchez but evocative accounts of their lives before and after gaining freedom.
Mansell is the acting chief of Interpretation and Cultural Resource Management at Natchez National Historical Park. He will discuss the pension records of the veterans of the U.S. Colored Troops at the meeting of the Natchez Historical Society on Tuesday, November 10, at the Historic Natchez Foundation, 108 South Commerce Street. His presentation will include “heart-wrenching stories that form the basis of the Park Service’s interpretation at the Forks of the Road,” Mansell said.
The meeting is free and open to the public. A social will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by Mansell’s presentation at 6 p.m.
‘RECORDS OF RESILIENCE’
Mansell’s lecture is titled, “Records of Resilience: U.S. Colored Troops and the Forks of the Road.”
“’Records of Resilience’ is the title that we’ve given to the pension applications from members of the various regiments of U.S. Colored Troops raised in the Natchez District after the arrival of Federal Troops on July 13, 1863,” Mansell said.
He noted the pension records provide “amazing information” about the lives of the formerly enslaved people, during enslavement, post-Civil War, and Reconstruction.
“Many affidavits specifically mention that the veteran or his widow was trafficked at the Forks of the Road,” he said. “The information gleaned from these files will lay the foundation for our interpretation at the Forks of the Road, the second largest market of enslaved people in the Deep South.”
Mansell’s presentation will include a PowerPoint and readings from pension files by local residents. The records contain stories that are “compelling and heartbreaking,” he said, adding he was surprised to discover that he and his team were the first researchers to examine the files since they were originally submitted. He said there is a great wealth of genealogical material found in each record.
REMARKABLE STORIES
The pension applications are housed at the National Archives and Records Administration. An intern assigned by Mansell and his staff spent 10 weeks scanning the contents of over 140 pension files.
“We focused on the veterans of the 58th U.S. Colored Infantry (USCT) because they were encamped at the Forks of the Road and we knew they were responsible for building Fort McPherson,” Mansell said.
He noted the research shows that each of the pension records tells a remarkable story and the particular struggles that African Americans faced when applying for a pension.
“We need to remember, there were no birth certificates, no marriage records for these veterans or their widows. The lack of these documents made securing a pension particularly difficult,” he said. “They do indeed, reflect the resilience of African Americans in pursuing a well-deserved pension. One folder produced a tintype of the veteran, only the second 19th century image we have of a member of the 58th USCT.”
Mansell is uniquely qualified to discuss this topic. Over the years, he has delivered numerous lectures at the Natchez Historical Society meetings and programs hosted by the Historic Natchez Foundation, and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
His academic credentials include a master of arts degree in history and historic preservation from Middle Tennessee State University. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in communications, a separate bachelor’s degree in history, and a master of education degree from Mississippi State University.
EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR
Mansell has worked at the park for 15 years. In 2017, he was honored as the National Park Service’s Employee of the Year for the Southeast Region for the Natchez History Minute Social Media Project. The project was created in 2016 for Natchez’s tricentennial celebration. It featured 366 historical stories written by Mansell and narrated by 366 different people.
In July 2026, during a local observance of Julyteenth, Mansell presented “When Freedom Came to Natchez” at Freedom Hall, the former home of a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, at the Forks of the Road Site.
He also spoke at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History’s “History Is Lunch” lecture series in February 2024. His presentation, “Enslavement to Enlistment: The 58th Infantry USCT,” was delivered in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson.
Mansell believes his November 10 lecture will help the audiences better understand the U.S. Colored Troops and their families.
“Each of the stories found in these records is worth telling,” he said. “This is the most important research the park has undertaken, and the stories found within these records need to be told.”
Comments