The son of James & Catherine Shorter, in 1860 he was a fireman living in Wrightsville, York County, Pennsylvania. He stood 5' 5" tall and had black hair, black eyes, and a black complexion.

A Civil War veteran, he enlisted and mustered into federal service at Carlisle August 30, 1864, as a private with Co. F, 127th U.S. Colored Troops. Promoted to corporal September 10, 1864, he was reduced to ranks January 9, 1865, and had pay withheld to cover the apparent loss of his musket and all accouterments. He transferred to Co. B on a date not discernible in his compiled military service records, and honorably discharged with his company September 8, 1865, at Brazos, Santiago County, Texas.

He turned to the ministry after the war. In 1890, he was still living in Wrightsville but died in Middletown from "arteriosclerosis [and] acute endocarditis."

The son of James & Catherine Shorter, in 1860 he was a fireman living in Wrightsville, York County, Pennsylvania. He stood 5' 5" tall and had black hair, black eyes, and a black complexion.

A Civil War veteran, he enlisted and mustered into federal service at Carlisle August 30, 1864, as a private with Co. F, 127th U.S. Colored Troops. Promoted to corporal September 10, 1864, he was reduced to ranks January 9, 1865, and had pay withheld to cover the apparent loss of his musket and all accouterments. He transferred to Co. B on a date not discernible in his compiled military service records, and honorably discharged with his company September 8, 1865, at Brazos, Santiago County, Texas.

He turned to the ministry after the war. In 1890, he was still living in Wrightsville but died in Middletown from "arteriosclerosis [and] acute endocarditis."