When he was 12, his family was moved to Cincinnati. He was educated here and received his freedom shortly before the Civil War began. While being educated, he was active in local theater and had a long term goal of being an actor. He also worked with a cabinet maker and became an accomplished wood turner.
In 1862, there was a huge battle in Richmond, Kentucky which the Confederate Army won handily. It was rumored that the South's next major goal was to march on Cincinnati. All local men were called upon to build fortifications around the city. Out of desperation, black men were pressed into duty. A man named William Dickson was appointed commander of the black brigade. He amassed a force of seven hundred black men and Powhatan Beaty was among them. The unarmed black brigade was sent across the Ohio into Kentucky to fortify the area around the Licking River. The Confederate troops never got here.
Beaty enlisted in the regular Union Army the next year and, from their training area in Delaware, Ohio, was sent to Virginia. He distinguished himself in the Battle of Chaffin's Farm and, in all, was a force in about a dozen battles. He was recommended for promotion to commissioned officer by a general but was turned down because he was black. He did receive the highest award in the U.S. military - the Medal of Honor.
After the war, he returned to Cincinnati and raised a family. He continued as a wood turner and stage actor. He eventually became an assistant engineer with the fledgling Cincinnati Water Works. For a time, he traveled to major cities in the Eastern United States acting in prestigious stage productions. He finally returned to town and helped form the city's Literary and Dramatic Club as well as being the club's drama director.
The State of Virginia honored him in 2001 by naming a bridge on I-895 after him. Powhatan Beaty - a man of whom Cincinnati should be rightly proud.
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