[citation needed] The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863.

[1] On July 26, 1864, near Wallace's Ferry in Arkansas, elements of the 60th and 56th Colored Infantry regiments and Battery E of the 2nd U.S.

Colored Artillery were attacked by a superior force of Confederate cavalry commanded by Col. Archibald S. Dobbins.

Supported by about 150 men from the 15th Illinois Cavalry the infantry regiments organized a fighting retreat and at a crucial moment in the battle made a counter charge into the enemy line.

This article about a specific military unit of the American Civil War is a stub.