Today — September 29 — is the 150th anniversary of the Civil War battle of Chaffin’s Farm. The battle is significant because Milton Holland, a mixed race native of Texas was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle. He was one of sixteen black soldiers awarded the Medal of Honor during the Civil War.
Holland’s mother, brother, and white father are all buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Austin. His father was killed while serving in the Confederate Army in April 1864. Milton’s brother, William, served in the Union Army and was later elected to the Texas Legislature. William helped found the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Institute for Colored Youth (which merged with Texas School for the Deaf in 1965 and integrated in 1966) as well as Prairie View A&M University.
Milton Holland is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
For more on this fascinating story, read this amply illustrated blog by Elyce Feliz.
The views and opinions expressed in this article or video are those of the individual author(s) or presenter(s) and do not necessarily reflect the policy or views of the editors at Not Even Past, the UT Department of History, the University of Texas at Austin, or the UT System Board of Regents. Not Even Past is an online public history magazine rather than a peer-reviewed academic journal. While we make efforts to ensure that factual information in articles was obtained from reliable sources, Not Even Past is not responsible for any errors or omissions.
