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BLACK HISTORY SPOTLIGHT: ALLEN ALLENSWORTH
Allen Allensworth (1842-1914) was once the highest ranking black officer in American history and founded the all-black town of Allensworth, California. Born to slave parents in Louisville, Kentucky, Allensworth educated himself illegally and escaped from slavery at twenty by joining the army. During the Civil War, he was a civilian nurse in Nashville. A year later, [...]

Allen Allensworth (1842-1914) was once the highest ranking black officer in American history and founded the all-black town of Allensworth, California.

Born to slave parents in Louisville, Kentucky, Allensworth educated himself illegally and escaped from slavery at twenty by joining the army. During the Civil War, he was a civilian nurse in Nashville. A year later, he had joined the Navy serving on a gunboat in the Ohio River. By 1865, he had become a chief petty officer and then returned to Louisville, where he converted to the Baptist faith and joined the Fifth Street Church.

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