Felix Battles (early 1840s – April 20, 1907) was an American former slave and

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

veteran who served in the

United States Colored Troops United States Colored Troops (USCT) were Union Army regiments during the American Civil War that primarily comprised African Americans, with soldiers from other ethnic groups also serving in USCT units. Established in response to a demand fo ...

, and one of the first settlers of

Moorhead, Minnesota Moorhead ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Minnesota, Clay County, Minnesota, United States, on the banks of the Red River of the North. Located in the Red River Valley, an extremely fertile and active agricultural region, Moo ...

, where he was a businessman running his own barbershop. He was called by one newspaper the "pioneer barber of the

Red River Valley The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North; it is part of both Canada and the United States. Forming the border between Minnesota and North Dakota when these territories were admitted ...

Biography

Little is known about Battles' early life. He was born into slavery on a

cotton plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tobacco ...

in the early 1840s in

Shelby County, Tennessee Shelby County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 929,744. It is the largest of the state's List of counties in Tennessee, 95 counties, both in terms of ...

, near Nashville, and grew up in Mississippi. He was owned by Eliza Dawson, wife of William C. Dawson. Battles gained his freedom as a teenager, though it is not known how or exactly when. As a young man, he lived in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

, and worked on steamboats on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. In 1864, the

18th United States Colored Infantry Regiment The 18th United States Colored Infantry Regiment was an African-American infantry regiment, raised in the state of Missouri, which served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service Organized in Missouri at large February 1 to Septemb ...

of the

formed in Missouri to serve in the Union Army. In August that year, Battles enlisted in Saint Paul. He did so as one of about 200,000 black men serving in the military during the Civil War – and at great risk to himself. Black soldiers captured by the

Confederacy A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

faced enslavement or execution. The programming director of the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County commented, "He was free, but he risked it all again to join the Union Army... He returned to the South knowing that the Confederacy often did not allow African American soldiers to surrender. They were often killed when trying to surrender, or their bodies were sometimes mutilated and put on display." Battles served in Company G and reached the rank of corporal. The regiment fought in the

Battle of Nashville The Battle of Nashville was a two-day battle in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign that represented the end of large-scale fighting west of the coastal states in the American Civil War. It was fought at Nashville, Tennessee, on December 15–16, 18 ...

. After Battles' military service, he worked for a time on the

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...

. Battles later began work as a barber, one of the few business options available to him at the time as an African American. Initially, he was a traveling barber. In the 1870s he and his family moved to

, where they settled, becoming some of the city's first permanent residents. He started his own barbershop in town called the Jay Cooke Barbershop, named after Union war effort and railroad financier

Jay Cooke Jay Cooke (August 10, 1821 – February 16, 1905) was an American financier who helped finance the Union war effort during the American Civil War and the postwar development of railroads in the northwestern United States. He is generally acknowle ...

. In 1905, Battles had a stroke, which left him partially paralyzed and forced him to close his business. He then applied for a pension, receiving $12 per month. Battles died two years later, on April 20, 1907, in Moorhead. His obituary described him as "a quiet, unobtrusive man, howas respected by all who knew him." Battles' funeral was held on April 23, 1907, with a number of war veterans in attendance. He was buried in Riverside Cemetery, Moorhead.

Family

Battles and his wife, Kate, had two children – Julia, who died in childhood, and Richard (1871–1916). ''

The Appeal ''The Appeal'' is a 2008 novel by John Grisham, his 21st book and his first fictional legal thriller since '' The Broker'' in 2005. The novel explores the interplay of corporate power, politics, and judicial ethics in the U.S. legal system, fo ...

'' described Kate as "always looking around to find some poor sick person to whom she can give a helping hand." She died in 1902 at 50 years of age.

Legacy

In 2018, the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County spearheaded a project to create a monument in honor of Felix Battles in Moorhead. Artist and local historian Markus Krueger designed the monument – a life-sized steel stencil of an African American Union Civil War soldier.The monument and its accompanying interpretive panels are intended to teach people that

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

's local African American community dates back to the very founding of its towns and to honor the crucial role that African Americans played in winning the Civil War. In 2021 an advisory committee of Fargo-Moorhead area African American leaders was formed to guide the project and choose a site for the statue. The site chosen was Felix Battles' old front yard, which happens to be the Center for Business at

Minnesota State University Moorhead Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) is a public university in Moorhead, Minnesota, across the Red River of the North from Fargo, North Dakota. The school has an enrollment of 7,534 students in 2019 and 266 full-time faculty members. MSUM ...

– very fitting for this pioneer African American businessman. Supported by donations from local residents, local businesses, and the

Minnesota Historical Society The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Educational institution, educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the Minnesota Terr ...

, the statue was installed in November 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Battles, Felix 1840s births 1907 deaths People from Shelby County, Tennessee 19th-century American slaves American former slaves Military personnel from Tennessee African Americans in the American Civil War Union army non-commissioned officers African-American history of Minnesota Barbers American hairdressers 19th-century African-American businesspeople 19th-century American businesspeople People enslaved in Tennessee