Charles Remond Douglass
| Charles Remond Douglass | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
October 21, 1844 Lynn, Massachusetts |
| Died | November 23, 1920 (aged 76) Washington, D.C. |
| Resting place |
Columbian Harmony Cemetery Washington, D.C. |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse(s) |
Mary Elizabeth Murphy (m. 1866; her death 1879) Laura Haley Canandaigua (m. 1880; his death 1920) |
| Children | 7 (including Joseph Douglass and Haley George) |
| Parent(s) |
Frederick Douglass Anna Murray Douglass |
Charles Remond Douglass (October 21, 1844 – November 23, 1920) is the third and youngest son of Frederick Douglass and his first wife Anna Murray Douglass. He was the first African-American man to enlist in the military in New York during the Civil War, and served as one of the first African-American clerks in the Freedmen's Bureau in Washington, DC.
Named after a friend of his father and anti-slavery speaker, Charles Lenox Remond, Charles Remond Douglass was born on October 21, 1844, in Lynn, Massachusetts. Douglass attended public school in Rochester, New York, after his family moved to the city in late 1847. As a child he worked delivering copies of his father's newspaper North Star. In his lifetime he worked as a soldier, journalist, government clerk, real estate developer, and secretary and treasurer for the District of Columbia school district. In 1866 he married Mary Elizabeth Murphy, also known as Libbie. The couple had six children: Charles Frederick, Joseph Henry, Annie Elizabeth, Julia Ada, Mary Louise, and Edward Douglass. Of these six, Joseph Henry was the only one to live to adulthood, becoming a famous violinist. Douglass and his wife were married until her death in 1879. On December 30, 1880, Douglass married his second wife, Laura Haley Canandaigua. The couple had one son together, Haley George Douglass, who became a school teacher at Dunbar High School in Washington, DC, and mayor of Highland Beach, Maryland.
Douglass became the first African-American man to enlist for military service in New York during the Civil War when he volunteered for the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. His brother Lewis Henry Douglass, also served in the 54th, ultimately becoming a sergeant major in that regiment. Due to illness, Douglass (Charles) was not able to deploy with the troops, thus remaining at the training camp in Readville, Massachusetts, as late as November 1863. He went on to join another black military regiment, the 5th Massachusetts Cavalry, in which he rose to the rank of first sergeant. In 1864 President Abraham Lincoln discharged Douglass due to poor health, at the request of his father. On December 7, 1880, Douglass helped to organize the Capital City Guards' Battalion, in which served as a captain and major. The organization later became the First Separate Battalion, National Guard of the District of Columbia. Douglass held several commands in the District of Columbia National Guard, along with several high posts in the Grand Army of the Republic.
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