Private William Henry Costley, (1840 – 1888)

Nance’s son Private William Henry ‘Bill’ Costley joined the Union Regiment of the 29th USCT during the most tragic period of the American Civil War in September of 1864. It was just a few weeks after Illinois’ only Black regiment was virtually wiped out, suffering about 70% casualties, at the infamous “Battle of the Crater” during the first Battle of Petersburg, Virginia. The bloody outcome of that battle left Commander-in-Chief Abraham Lincoln with little hope of ending the Civil War soon and he could lose re-election, which put the Emancipation Proclamation in jeopardy. For African American men at this time, Failure was not an Option, as the Confederate States had threatened every person of color would be returned to slavery and was a member of the Colored troops regiment that would later witness Juneteenth in Galveston Texas.

Citation: see William Costly’s bio by Historian Carl Adams.