Kelly Mezurek

Last updated

Kelly D. Mezurek
Born
Ohio, United States
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Professor of humanities, Walsh University
Known forAuthor of For Their Own Cause: The 27th United States Colored Troops; recipient of the Nau Civil War Fellowship, University of Virginia (2019)

Kelly D. Mezurek (b. 1961) is a professor of humanities at Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio whose research and writing has focused on nineteenth-century American History. A leading expert on the military service of African Americans during the American Civil War, [1] she is the author of the book, For Their Own Cause: The 27th United States Colored Troops, which was published by The Kent State University Press in 2016. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

A finalist for the Ohioana Book Award for nonfiction in 2017, she was awarded the Nau Civil War Fellowship at the University of Virginia in 2019. [5] [6]

Formative years

Born in the United States in the state of Ohio in 1961, Kelly D. Mezurek is a daughter of the late Carl Joel Mezurek (1941–2001) and Carol Mae (Hadsell) Mezurek (1941–1922). [7] [8]

Mezurek earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in history at Baldwin-Wallace College (now Baldwin Wallace University) in Berea, Ohio, followed by a Master of Arts in public history and Doctor of Philosophy in nineteenth-century United States history from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. In 2019, she was appointed by the University of Virginia to serve as its Nau Civil War fellow. In 2022, she served as one of the scholarly research fellows for the Kentucky Historical Society. [9] [10] [11]

Academic career

Hired by Walsh University as an adjunct faculty member in the department of history in 2000, Mezurek was promoted to assistant professor in 2008 and was subsequently appointed as a professor in the humanities division. Her current teaching responsibilities include the planning and presentation of upper-level history classes for social studies majors, as well as general-level history education classes for other members of the student body. [12]

Publications and presentations

Publications

An abridged list of Mezurek's published work and presentations includes: [13] [14] [15] [16]

Presentations

Academic and public service

Mezurek has been involved in multiple academic and public service activities throughout her career, including: [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Colored Troops</span> American Civil War military unit

United States Colored Troops (USCT) were Union Army regiments during the American Civil War that primarily comprised African Americans, with soldiers from other ethnic groups also serving in USCT units. Established in response to a demand for more units from Union Army commanders, USCT regiments, which numbered 175 in total by the end of the war in 1865, constituted about one-tenth of the manpower of the army, according to historian Kelly Mezurek, author of For Their Own Cause: The 27th United States Colored Troops. “They served in infantry, artillery, and cavalry.” Approximately 20 percent of USCT soldiers were killed in action or died of disease and other causes, a rate about 35 percent higher than that of white Union troops. Numerous USCT soldiers fought with distinction, with 16 receiving the Medal of Honor. The USCT regiments were precursors to the Buffalo Soldier units which fought in the American Indian Wars.

An African American is a citizen or resident of the United States who has origins in any of the black populations of Africa. African American-related topics include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military history of African Americans</span> Aspect of African American history

The military history of African Americans spans African-American history, the history of the United States and the military history of the United States from the arrival of the first enslaved Africans during the colonial history of the United States to the present day. African Americans have participated in every war which has been fought either by or within the United States, including the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the Civil War, the Spanish–American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (Cleveland)</span> Monument in Cleveland, Ohio

The Cuyahoga County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument is a major Civil War monument in Cleveland, Ohio, honoring the more than 9,000 individuals from Cuyahoga County who served the Union throughout the war. It was dedicated on July 4, 1894, and is located on the southeast quadrant of Public Square in Downtown Cleveland. It was designed by architect and Civil War veteran Levi Scofield, who also created the monument's sculptures. The monument is regularly open to the public, free of charge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohio in the American Civil War</span> Overview of the role of the U.S. state of Ohio during the American Civil War

During the American Civil War, the State of Ohio played a key role in providing troops, military officers, and supplies to the Union army. Due to its central location in the Northern United States and burgeoning population, Ohio was both politically and logistically important to the war effort. Despite the state's boasting a number of very powerful Republican politicians, it was divided politically. Portions of Southern Ohio followed the Peace Democrats and openly opposed President Abraham Lincoln's policies. Ohio played an important part in the Underground Railroad prior to the war, and remained a haven for escaped and runaway slaves during the war years.

German-Americans were the largest ethnic contingent to fight for the Union in the American Civil War. More than 200,000 native-born Germans, along with another 250,000 1st-generation German-Americans, served in the Union Army, notably from New York, Wisconsin, and Ohio. Several thousand also fought for the Confederacy. Most German born residents of the Confederacy lived in Louisiana and Texas. Many others were 3rd- and 4th-generation Germans whose ancestors migrated to Virginia and the Carolinas in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cleveland in the American Civil War</span>

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The bibliography of the American Civil War comprises books that deal in large part with the American Civil War. There are over 60,000 books on the war, with more appearing each month. Authors James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier stated in 2012, "No event in American history has been so thoroughly studied, not merely by historians, but by tens of thousands of other Americans who have made the war their hobby. Perhaps a hundred thousand books have been published about the Civil War."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military history of African Americans in the American Civil War</span> Aspect of United States history

African Americans, including former slaves, served in the American Civil War. The 186,097 black men who joined the Union Army included 7,122 officers and 178,975 enlisted soldiers. Approximately 20,000 black sailors served in the Union Navy and formed a large percentage of many ships' crews. Later in the war, many regiments were recruited and organized as the United States Colored Troops, which reinforced the Northern forces substantially during the conflict's last two years. Both Northern Free Negro and Southern runaway slaves joined the fight. Throughout the course of the war, black soldiers served in forty major battles and hundreds of more minor skirmishes; sixteen African Americans received the Medal of Honor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newton H. Hall</span>

Newton H. Hall was an infantryman in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry at the Battle of Franklin during the 1864 Franklin-Nashville Campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colored Soldiers Monument in Frankfort</span> United States historic place

The Colored Soldiers Monument in Frankfort, Kentucky's Green Hill Cemetery, at the junction of US 60 and US 421, is the only Kentucky monument honoring black soldiers that participated in the American Civil War, and one of only four in the entire United States. Erected by the Woman's Relief Corps No. 8, an auxiliary of the Grand Army of the Republic, it was unveiled on July 4, 1924. The only other monument built by GAR in Kentucky is the GAR Monument in Covington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis H. Carpenter</span> 19th and early 20th-century US Army brigadier general

Louis Henry Carpenter was a United States Army brigadier general and a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions in the American Indian Wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Bruner</span> African-American slave, soldier and author

Peter Bruner was born a slave in Kentucky. He escaped enslavement to join the Union Army during the Civil War. After the war, he married and raised a family in Ohio. Collaborating with his daughter, he published his autobiography.

The following list is a Bibliography of American Civil War Union military unit histories. More details on each book are available at WorldCat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commemoration of the American Civil War</span>

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The 27th United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863.

The 52nd United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment composed of African-American troops recruited from Mississippi that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. On July 4, 1864, the 52nd Colored Infantry fought a battle at Coleman's Plantation in Jefferson County, Mississippi. This engagement is notable as it is most likely the first time that Black soldiers from Mississippi fought against white Confederates from the same state.

Ervin L. Jordan, Jr. is an Associate Professor and Research Archivist at the University of Virginia, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. He has published several books and articles, as well as given lectures and taught workshops, on the American Civil War and African American history. He has appeared on television several times as a consulting historian in matters of African American history and genealogy, as well lectured at conferences, universities and events, some which were televised on C-CPAN. He has written several books and been awarded for his research in the Civil War and African American history and is one of the leading figures in developing black American history.

Black Kentuckians are residents of the state of Kentucky who are of African ancestry. The history of Blacks in the US state of Kentucky starts at the same time as the history of White Americans; Black Americans settled Kentucky alongside white explorers such as Daniel Boone. As of 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, African Americans make up 8.5% of Kentucky's population. Compared to the rest of the population, the African American census racial category is the 2nd largest.

References

  1. Anderson, Javonte. “Remembering the United States Colored Troops who helped win the Civil War.” McLean, Virginia: USA Today, May 31, 2021.
  2. Fletcher, Marvin. 2019. “For Their Own Cause: The 27th United States Colored Troops By Kelly D. Mezurek,” in Indiana Magazine of History, vol. 113, no. 2, pp. 163-65.
  3. Fisher, Richard. “The Civil War, Ohioans, and U.S. Colored Troops.” Delaware, Ohio: Delaware County Historical Society, February 8, 2023.
  4. Black Men in Blue program to be presented in Shreve by Walsh University history professor.” Wooster, Ohio: The Daily Record, April 9, 2024.
  5. Kelly Mezurek.” North Canton, Ohio: Walsh University, retrieved online May 13, 2024.
  6. “Past Nau Civil War Center Library Fellows,” in “Fellowships.” Charlottesville, Virginia: Nau Center for Civil War History, University of Virginia, retrieved online May 13, 2024.
  7. Carol Mae (Hadsell) Mezurek” (obituary). Elyria, Ohio: The Chronicle, October 19, 2022.
  8. Official Obituary of Carol Mae (Hadsell) Mezurek.” Valley City, Ohio: Bauer Funeral Home, 2022.
  9. “Kelly Mezurek,” Walsh University.
  10. “Past Nau Civil War Center Library Fellows,” Nau Center for Civil War History.
  11. “Spring 2022 Scholarly Research Fellowships,” in “Recent Fellows.” Frankfort, Kentucky: Kentucky Historical Society, retrieved online May 13, 2024.
  12. “Kelly Mezurek,” Walsh University.
  13. “Kelly Mezurek, Walsh University.
  14. About: Kelly D. Mezurek.” Kent, Ohio: The Kent State University Press, retrieved online May 13, 2024.
  15. Ramold, Steven J. “Review of For Their Own Cause: The 27th United States Colored Troops, by Kelly D. Mezurek,” in Ohio Valley History, vol. 17, no. 2 (2017), pp. 92-94. Cincinnati, Ohio: The Filson Historical Society, Cincinnati Museum Center, and University of Cincinnati.
  16. For Their Own Cause : the 27th United States Colored Troops/Kelly D. Mezurek.” Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, retrieved online May 13, 2024.
  17. Kent Civil War Society welcomes author Kelly Mezurek on Jan. 10.” Kent, Ohio: Record-Courier, January 9, 2017.