After the Union captured New Bern, refugee African Americans from eastern North Carolina plantations found a new life and purpose in Civil War-era New Bern. Men and women worked for the military as laborers, cooks, seamstresses, and laundresses. The military government established schools and the Trent River Settlement that eventually became James City, which housed a vibrant community of freed African Americans. Some even became soldiers. In 1863, the First North Carolina Colored Volunteers (see the historical highway marker at the Academy Museum) had their first parade on the city green. Members had been encouraged to sign up by Abraham Galloway, a leader in the African American community. The First North Carolina Colored Volunteers eventually became the 35th Regiment of the United States Colored Troops.
