Newton was born in North Carolina, the son of free black woman and an enslaved father. As a child, he worked as a servant in North Carolina, until he relocated with his parents to New York in the 1850s. There he became educated and got married, before eventually enlisting in the Union army in 1863 as part of the 29th Connecticut, a regiment in the US Colored Troops. Newton was injured during the Battle of the Crater in July 1864, outside of Petersburg. After the Civil War, Newton became a minister in the AME church and wrote a memoir of his wartime experience, called "Out of the Briars." (By Matthew Pinsker)
Life Span
to
Life Summary
Full name
Alexander Herritage Newton
Place of Birth
Birth Date Certainty
Exact
Death Date Certainty
Estimated
Gender
Male
Race
Black
Sectional choice
North
Origins
Slave State
No. of Spouses
2
No. of Children
3
Family
Thaddeus A. Newton (father), Mary Newton (mother), Olivia Augusta Hamilton (first wife), Lulu L. Newton (second wife), Ada A. Newton Cooper (daughter)
Occupation
Military
Clergy
Relation to Slavery
Free black
Church or Religious Denomination
Methodist
Other Affiliations
Masons
Military
Union Army
