On this episode of Our American Stories, Nicholas Biddle died broke, never received a pension, and was never officially recognized as a Union soldier because of his age and the color of his skin—but he was treated as a soldier by his company and was the first to shed blood in the Civil War, just days after the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter.
Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.