Garland H. White
| Garland H. White | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1829 Hanover County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | July 5, 1894 Washington, DC, U.S. |
| Occupation | abolitionist, minister, army chaplain, and politician |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Georgiana, Sallie |
Garland H. White (1829 - July 5, 1894) was a preacher and politician who served as Chaplain for the 28th United States Colored Infantry (28th USCT). He was one of the few black officers in the US Civil War. Before the war, he was owned by Congressman and future Confederate cabinet member and general, Robert Toombs. He escaped slavery to Ontario just before the war started and became a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). He returned to the United States to preach and to recruit black soldiers. He joined the 28th USCT, which he helped recruit, and took part in the Battle of the Crater and the capture of Richmond. After the war, he moved to North Carolina where he continued preaching and was one of few black Democratic politicians.
Garland H. White was born in 1829 to a woman named Nancy in Hanover County, Virginia just northwest of Richmond, Virginia. While Garland was still young, his owner sold him to Robert Toombs, who was a lawyer and, in 1844, became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. It is not known when Toombs purchased White, but it has been estimated as being around 1839 or in 1845. White accompanied Toombs to Washington, D.C. while he was in the House. White had no education as a slave and may have gained basic reading and writing skills while working as a servant in Washington. Another man owned by Toombs and a friend to White by the name of William Gaines also became a notable Methodist preacher, but was not freed until the Union Army arrived in Georgia during the Civil War.
In 1850 in Washington, Toombs' slave, Lousia, and possibly White attempted an escape with the help of New York abolitionist William L. Chaplin. During the pursuit of the escapees, Toombs said that he was more concerned about Lousia than White, as he did not care for White. Both were caught when a posse of six slave catchers chased Chaplin's carriage out of Washington. During the chase, the posse shot into the carriage, wounding the occupants. When they were caught, Chaplin was beat and held in D.C. for six weeks.
In 1852, Toombs was elected to the U.S. Senate and White again accompanied Toombs to the capital. It was around this time with White met abolitionist William Seward, who was then a U.S. Senator and who lived two doors down from Toombs in the capital. White studied for the ministry and received certification to preach the gospel on September 10, 1859. He was granted license to preach at a gathering called the "4th Quarterly Conference", likely a local gathering of the AME, in Washington, Georgia. Shortly later in 1859 or 1860, White escaped from Toombs in 1860 and fled to London, Ontario. In Canada, he met and befriended future bishop of the Independent Methodist Episcopal Church (which would later unite with the AME church), Augustus Green. In October 1861, he was appointed by Bishop Green to the charge of the London AME mission.
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