Thomas Morris Chester (May 11, 1834 – September 30, 1892) was an American war correspondent, lawyer, and soldier who took part in the American Civil War. He is recognized as the first African American war correspondent for a major daily newspaper, reporting for The Philadelphia Press during the final year of the Civil War.
Early Life and Education
Chester was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on May 11, 1834, the fourth child of George and Jane Marie Chester. His mother had escaped slavery. At age 16, he attended Akron College, an African-American academy in Pittsburgh. In May 1853, he moved to Monrovia, Liberia, where he attended Alexander High School. He returned to the United States in September 1854 and enrolled at Thetford Academy in Vermont, graduating in 1856. He then returned to Liberia to teach school before leaving Africa around the start of the Civil War, traveling first to Liverpool and London, and then back to the United States.
Civil War Service
During the Civil War, Chester served as a recruiter of Black troops and helped raise the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Infantry Regiments. During the Gettysburg campaign in June–July 1863, he led two Black emergency militia regiments to defend Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, marking the first time Pennsylvania had issued weapons to African Americans. From August 1864 to the end of the war in May 1865, he worked as a war correspondent for The Philadelphia Press, covering the campaigns of the United States Colored Troops in Virginia.
Legal Career in England
After the war, Chester toured Europe and spent the winter of 1866–67 at the court of Alexander II of Russia, where he was given the title "Captain Chester." He settled in London to study law at Middle Temple in 1867 and was called to the bar on April 30, 1870, becoming the first African American to qualify as an English barrister.
Later Life and Legacy
Chester returned to the United States in 1871 and settled in Louisiana, where he practiced law, served as brigadier-general of the militia, and was superintendent of schools in 1875. In 1884, he was elected president of the Wilmington, Wrightsville, and Onslow Railroad. He returned to Harrisburg due to illness and died on September 30, 1892, at the age of 58. He is buried in Lincoln Cemetery in Penbrook, Pennsylvania.
In 2022, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, dedicated a monument titled "Gathering at the Crossroads" in his honor and renamed a street "T. Morris Chester Way." The T. Morris Chester Welcome Center was also established in partnership with the McCormick Public Library and the Commonwealth Monument Project.
