Join author and historian C.R. Gibbs as he presents the gripping yet little known story of the First Regiment, U.S. Colored Troops, organized in the nation's capital in the spring and summer of 1863. (Age 12 to Adult) No RSVP required. FREE

The first regiment of black soldiers from the middle Atlantic states, the unit was also known as the First District Colored Infantry and participated in bitter fighting in Virginia and North Carolina. The regimental chaplain was the legendary Rev. Henry McNeal Turner whose AME church stood at the foot of Capitol Hill on the site of what is now the Rayburn House Office Building. The "Fighting First" as he called it was also the first group of black soldiers ever invited to the White House.

C.R. Gibbs will also be signing copies of his book after his presentation. "Black, Copper, & Bright" is the first book ever written on this unit whose service and sacrifice did so much to help bring honor, respect, and a new political era to African Americans in the District of Columbia.