Biography · Civil Rights & Community
William Jackson
1818–1900
United States
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William Jackson (August 16, 1818 – May 19, 1900) was an American abolitionist, Underground Railroad agent, Baptist minister, and Union army chaplain. In 1859, Jackson founded the Salem Baptist Church, an African American congregation in New Bedford, Massachusetts. As chaplain of the 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in 1863, he may have been the first Black man to receive a US army commission.
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Wikipedia contributors — original record ↗
Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13
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