Birth name "Peter Skaggs," however, he later assumed the surname of Jacob Vertrees, his white paternal grandfather, to whom he was apprenticed at age 5. Peter was the son of Mary Elizabeth "Polly" Skaggs and Rev. Booker Harding, a son of Jacob Vertrees. Nothing further has been written about Polly or Booker's lives or deaths.
In the Civil War, Peter served as a cook and bodyguard under his uncle, Dr. John Luther Vertrees, in the Orphan Brigade, 6th KY Inf, CSA. Following the war, he moved to Gallatin, TN, pursuing the Baptist ministry for 61 years. An historic marker is erected near his home in Gallatin. Rev. Vetrees was first married (04 July 1872) to Amanda (Mandia) Love Dowell, then (04 Dec 1880) to Sarah Head with whom he had three sons, and finally (20 Aug 1901) to Diora Wylie with whom he had five children.
An article entitled, "Black Soldier of the Confederacy: The Life and Legacy of Peter Vertrees, a Kentucky Orphan," by Scott E. Sallee, was published in the June 1990 (Vol. VIII, No. 5) of the Blue & Gray Magazine.
Photocopies of his autobiography, along with that of his third wife, Diora, are housed in the Western Kentucky University Manuscripts & Folklife Archives, Special Collections Library Department of Library Special Collections, Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY.
In the Civil War, Peter served as a cook and bodyguard under his uncle, Dr. John Luther Vertrees, in the Orphan Brigade, 6th KY Inf, CSA. Following the war, he moved to Gallatin, TN, pursuing the Baptist ministry for 61 years. An historic marker is erected near his home in Gallatin. Rev. Vetrees was first married (04 July 1872) to Amanda (Mandia) Love Dowell, then (04 Dec 1880) to Sarah Head with whom he had three sons, and finally (20 Aug 1901) to Diora Wylie with whom he had five children.
An article entitled, "Black Soldier of the Confederacy: The Life and Legacy of Peter Vertrees, a Kentucky Orphan," by Scott E. Sallee, was published in the June 1990 (Vol. VIII, No. 5) of the Blue & Gray Magazine.
Photocopies of his autobiography, along with that of his third wife, Diora, are housed in the Western Kentucky University Manuscripts & Folklife Archives, Special Collections Library Department of Library Special Collections, Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY.
Birth name "Peter Skaggs," however, he later assumed the surname of Jacob Vertrees, his white paternal grandfather, to whom he was apprenticed at age 5. Peter was the son of Mary Elizabeth "Polly" Skaggs and Rev. Booker Harding, a son of Jacob Vertrees. Nothing further has been written about Polly or Booker's lives or deaths.
In the Civil War, Peter served as a cook and bodyguard under his uncle, Dr. John Luther Vertrees, in the Orphan Brigade, 6th KY Inf, CSA. Following the war, he moved to Gallatin, TN, pursuing the Baptist ministry for 61 years. An historic marker is erected near his home in Gallatin. Rev. Vetrees was first married (04 July 1872) to Amanda (Mandia) Love Dowell, then (04 Dec 1880) to Sarah Head with whom he had three sons, and finally (20 Aug 1901) to Diora Wylie with whom he had five children.
An article entitled, "Black Soldier of the Confederacy: The Life and Legacy of Peter Vertrees, a Kentucky Orphan," by Scott E. Sallee, was published in the June 1990 (Vol. VIII, No. 5) of the Blue & Gray Magazine.
Photocopies of his autobiography, along with that of his third wife, Diora, are housed in the Western Kentucky University Manuscripts & Folklife Archives, Special Collections Library Department of Library Special Collections, Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY.
In the Civil War, Peter served as a cook and bodyguard under his uncle, Dr. John Luther Vertrees, in the Orphan Brigade, 6th KY Inf, CSA. Following the war, he moved to Gallatin, TN, pursuing the Baptist ministry for 61 years. An historic marker is erected near his home in Gallatin. Rev. Vetrees was first married (04 July 1872) to Amanda (Mandia) Love Dowell, then (04 Dec 1880) to Sarah Head with whom he had three sons, and finally (20 Aug 1901) to Diora Wylie with whom he had five children.
An article entitled, "Black Soldier of the Confederacy: The Life and Legacy of Peter Vertrees, a Kentucky Orphan," by Scott E. Sallee, was published in the June 1990 (Vol. VIII, No. 5) of the Blue & Gray Magazine.
Photocopies of his autobiography, along with that of his third wife, Diora, are housed in the Western Kentucky University Manuscripts & Folklife Archives, Special Collections Library Department of Library Special Collections, Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY.
Inscription
6th KY Infantry, CSA
