Edwin Belcher reportedly served in a white regiment and was twice taken prisoner during the Civil War.

More than two dozen were turned away but Belcher and a few others were allowed to remain because they had light complexions and it could not be proved they were 1/8 or more "Negro".

[3] In 1872 he graduated from Howard University's law school (founded in 1869) and was admitted to the bar in Washington D.C.[1] His brother Eugene R. Belcher was also part of one of the earliest Howard University Law School classes.

[4][5] In 1878, Belcher wrote a letter introducing himself to William Lloyd Garrison.

Drew S. Days III, former Solicitor General of the United States, is a descendant of the Belcher family.