Samuel Burden was a resident of Mansfield on January 9, 1864 when he enlisted as a Private in Co. K of the 29th (Colored) Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. According to army records, he was killed September 1, 1864 at Petersburg, Virginia. His military file indicates that the report of his death was written on September 1, 1864.
The descriptive muster roll for the 29th (Colored) Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry lists his age as 18 and his occupation as farmer. He is described as 5’8” tall with a black complexion and black hair and eyes. His marital status is single.
He was born about 1842 in Virginia and he was not living in Mansfield in the 1860 U.S. census.
Samuel Burden died on August 25, 1864 and is believed to be buried as Samuel Burton at the Poplar Grove National Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia, Site No. 2250. The original burial place was on the battlefield at Fort Stedman.
In Literature
On page 18 of his book: A Sketch of the 29th Regiment of Connecticut Colored Troops, author Isaac J. Hill stated that Private Samuel Burton of Company K was killed on August 25, 1864 by being shot in the head while moving the company. There is no Samuel Burton in Co. K, only a Samuel Burden. National Cemetery burial records show the burial of Samuel Burton instead of Samuel Burden with a death date of June 18, 1864. The military file of Samuel Burden indicated that he was killed near Petersburg, Virginia and was buried in the field. Regimental records document that the 29th Connecticut did not arrive in Virginia until August 14, 1864 and did not enter the trenches of Petersburg until August 24, 1864. It appears that the Samuel Burton buried in the Poplar Grove National Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia is Samuel Burden and the death date should be August 25, 1864.