Pinckney Pinchback biography

Profile

Son of a former slave, Pinckney Pinchback, fought in the Civil War and was one of the Union Army's few commissioned officers of African American ancestry. He became a Commander but resigned in 1863 due to racial tensions. He became the first person of African American descent to become governor of a U.S. state. He was later elected to Congress and eventually to the U.S. senate.