Editing Camp William Penn (section)

== Regiments and Service ==

Eleven USCT infantry regiments were organized and trained at Camp William Penn. The 3rd, 6th, 8th, 22nd, 24th, 25th, 32nd, 41st, 43rd, 45th, and 127th United States Colored Infantry all passed through the camp before being dispatched to various theaters of the war. These regiments saw action across the South, from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi Valley. The 6th USCT participated in the assault on Fort Wagner outside Charleston, South Carolina, in July 1863—one of the most celebrated actions by Black troops during the war. The 8th USCT fought in the Battle of Olustee in Florida, one of the largest engagements involving African American soldiers.<ref name="taylor"/>

The soldiers' service demonstrated courage and capability that helped transform attitudes about race, at least temporarily. Black troops suffered higher casualty rates than their white counterparts, partly because they were often assigned particularly dangerous duties and partly because Confederate forces sometimes refused to take Black prisoners, killing them instead. Despite these dangers, USCT regiments maintained their cohesion and fighting effectiveness. Their performance provided powerful evidence for postwar arguments about civil rights, and veterans of Camp William Penn played important roles in Philadelphia's Black community after the war.<ref name="cornish"/>