William Matthews, the first Black Combat Officer during the Civil War

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than SEVENTEEN decades of Republican heroes and heroics.

Today, I salute William Matthews, born in Maryland, October 25th 1829. His parents were free blacks. He operated a boat on Chesapeake Bay.

Matthews relocated to Kansas in 1856. A boarding house he managed was a station along the Underground Railroad. Early during the Civil War, the state Emancipation League named him superintendent of escaped slaves. Dozens of these men he organized informally for self-defense.

August 1862, with the support of a Republican Senator, a Republican Governor commissioned Matthews captain of Company D, 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers. Months prior to being accepted into federal service, this militia unit fought rebel guerrillas. Their baptism of fire occurred five months before the 54th Massachusetts attack on Fort Wagner, South Carolina. He later was recruiting officer for the Independent Kansas Colored Battery.

Peace restored, Matthews served on the Kansas Republican central committee. Twice, the GOP nominated him for the legislature.

Back to Basics for the Republican Party is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more we Republicans know about the history of our party, the more Democrats will worry about the future of theirs. For more information, see www.grandoldpartisan.com. 

Here is a YouTube Video about this article.

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Here is a Rumble Video about this article.

Here is an Instagram Video about this article.

Here is my Substack about this article.

Michael Zak is author of Back to Basics for the Republican Party, a history of GOP civil rights achievement.


Each day, his YouTube videos and TikTok videos and Rumble videos and Grand Old Partisan blog celebrate more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. And, see Speech Raves for audience feedback from his presentations in thirty-one states.

Clarence Thomas cited Back to Basics for the Republican Party in a Supreme Court decision.

"This is the most amazing book about politics that I have ever read. The Overview should be required reading for anyone with even a minor interest in government. The remainder is an enthralling history lesson that I will never forget. For years, we have all been misled about the true nature of the GOP. This is the real deal! Read it and be proud!"

"Your book is a national treasure. I'm always recommending it."

"Michael Zak wrote the definitive history of the GOP."

"Back to Basics for the Republican Party is the most significant contribution to the Republican Party in the last twenty years apart from Ronald Reagan."

"Back to Basics for the Republican Party is more important to our party now than ever before."

and

"one of the best books I ever read"

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