Joseph T. (Joseph Thomas) Wilson

Born in Norfolk, Virginia, around 1836 or 1837, Joseph T. Wilson became an American journalist, politician, and author whose work centered on Black history and citizenship. During the Civil War he served with Black Union forces, including time connected with the 54th Massachusetts and other regiments of the United States Colored Troops.

After the war, he worked in publishing and politics during Reconstruction and became known as an orator and activist. His best-known book, The Black Phalanx, brought together a wide account of Black soldiers in American wars and helped preserve stories that were often ignored in mainstream histories.

Wilson died in 1891. He is remembered not only as a veteran and public figure, but also as an early historian who wrote from close personal knowledge of the era he described.