CANTON -- St. Lawrence University History Professor Liz Regosin will discuss African American soldiers’ experiences at the next St. Lawrence County Historical Association Civil War Roundtable on Feb. 28 at 2 p.m.

The event will be at the Silas Wright House, 3 East Main St..

Regosin will speak about the experiences of men who enlisted in the United States Colored Troops, and her work with African American Civil War pension records.

The Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863 effectively opened the door for African American participation in the Union Army. Then on May 22, 1863 the War Department issued General Order #143, which officially established the Bureau of Colored Troops to coordinate the recruitment and organization of colored troops from all over the country. Within months, African Americans were already fighting battles in defense of the Union. And by war’s end, nearly 180,000 African Americans had enlisted, comprising about 10 percent of the total Union Army, according to SLCHA.

Regosin teaches courses in U.S. History, focusing especially on African American history, U.S. Women’s history, and the Civil War. She is the author of the book “Freedom's Promise: Ex-Slave Families and Citizenship in the Age of Emancipation” and the co-editor with Donald R. Shaffer of “Voices of Emancipation: Understanding Slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction through the U.S. Pension Bureau Files.”