Charles Lewis Mitchell (November 10, 1829 – April 13, 1912) was a printer, officer in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, and state legislator in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Along with Edward G. Walker, Mitchell was one of the first two African Americans to serve in the

Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. Th ...

Early life

Mitchell was born in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1853 he began work as a printer for

William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was an Abolitionism in the United States, American abolitionist, journalist, and reformism (historical), social reformer. He is best known for his widely read anti-slavery newspaper ''The ...

's abolitionist newspaper, '' The Liberator''. During the

he served in the 55th Massachusetts Colored Volunteer Infantry and was wounded at the Battle of Honey Hill in South Carolina, resulting in the loss of one foot. For his courage in action at Honey Hill, Mitchell was promoted to second lieutenant. After the war, Mitchell married Nellie Brown, a noted popular singer in Boston.

Political career

In 1866, Mitchell was elected to the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

as a Republican, representing the sixth ward of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Taking his seat in January 1867, he and Edward G. Walker became the first African Americans to hold legislative offices in Massachusetts. During his one term in the House, Mitchell served on the House Standing Committee on Printing. In 1869, he was appointed as an inspector in the U.S. customs office in Boston, and subsequently promoted to clerk. Mitchell served in the customs office for forty years until his retirement in 1909. At William Lloyd Garrison's funeral in Boston, in May 1879, Mitchell was one of eight pallbearers, along with

Wendell Phillips Wendell Phillips (November 29, 1811 – February 2, 1884) was an American abolitionist, labor reformer, temperance activist, advocate for Native Americans, orator, and attorney. According to George Lewis Ruffin, a black attorney, Phillip ...

and

Lewis Hayden Lewis Hayden (December 2, 1811 – April 7, 1889) escaped slavery in Kentucky with his family and reached Canada. He established a school for African Americans before moving to Boston, Massachusetts. There he became an Abolitionism in the United ...

. Nellie Brown Mitchell also sang at the funeral, as part of a quartet of African American singers.''Tributes to William Lloyd Garrison at the Funeral Services, May 28, 1879'' (Boston: Houghton, Osgood and Company 1879), pp. 8, 15. In 1897, at the unveiling of

Augustus Saint-Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculpture, sculptor of the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. Saint-Gaudens was born in Dublin to an Iris ...

's celebrated

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

Robert Gould Shaw Robert Gould Shaw (October 10, 1837 – July 18, 1863) was an American officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Born into an Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist family from the Boston Brahmin, Boston upper class, he ...

and the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, Mitchell was formally in attendance along with his former commanding officer in the 55th Massachusetts, Norwood Penrose Hallowell.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Charles Lewis 1829 births 1912 deaths African-American abolitionists American abolitionists African Americans in the American Civil War Union army officers Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Politicians from Boston African-American state legislators in Massachusetts African-American politicians during the Reconstruction Era Military personnel from Massachusetts 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court

Early life

Political career

See also

References