Mary Lee Brady, Ph.D. 
| | One way of determining existence of brothers and cousins relationships of young men serving during the civil war is to research the regiments they served in, often volunteering together as young men who are friends often did, including the decisions to escape as occurred with the many Kile/Kyle kin who obviously knew one another. We ought to care and do because they mattered! Ellis Kile, born around 1844 died during 1938 as the oldest living Civil War veteran in Roanoke County Virginia where he and his brother Charles Kyle below, ... along with brother Robert had been enslaved on the Kyle plantation in Salem, Virginia. Stories passed on by his great nephew William Thomas Atkins, Sr., husband to Cora Lee Hill, noted that, ... "Uncle Ellis in last years of life had become senile but sat each day with his Union Army carbine on the front-porch of home waiting for confederate rebels to attack." An escape attempt in early years of the war resulted with confederate recapture of Robert in the vicinity of Winchester, Virginia and return to slavery in Salem where he was legally sentenced and punished via a daily public whipping in front of the County Court House for other slaves to witness and fear running away. He never recovered from the brutal beatings that left him crippled to the extent that he could not walk without crutches. In grateful memory of his heritage, nephew William noted above was given the middle name of Thomas and in turn named his sons William Thomas Atkins, Jr., Robert Martin Atkins and George Edgar Atkins, ... all of whom would serve in the U.S. military forces when their turn came. UNITED STATES COLORED TROOPS
45th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry
Organized at Philadelphia, Pa., June 13 to August 19, 1864. Moved to Washington, D. C. (4 Cos.), July, 1864. Attached to Provisional Brigade, Casey's Division, 22nd Corps, and garrison duty at Arlington Heights, Va., till March, 1865. Rejoined Regiment at Chaffin's Farm, Va., March 14, 1865. Six Companies moved to City Point, Va., September 20, 1864. Attached to 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 10th Corps, Army of the James, to December, 1864. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 25th Corps, and Dept. of Texas, to November, 1865.
SERVICE.-Demonstration on north side of the James River and battle of Chaffin's Farm, New Market Heights, September 28-30, 1864. Fort Harrison September 29. Darbytown Road October 13. Battle of Fair Oaks October 27-28. In trenches before Richmond till March, 1865. Moved to Hatcher's Run March 27-28. Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9. Hatcher's Run March 29-31. Fall of Petersburg April 2. Pursuit of Lee April 3-9. Appomattox Court House April 9. Surrender of Lee and his army. Duty at Petersburg and City Point till May. Moved to Texas May and June. Duty at Edinburg on Mexican Frontier September 8, and at Brownsville, Texas, till November. Mustered out November 4, 1865.
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Census records indicate Ellis likely lived in Cleveland or Pittsburgh for some time after the war, perhaps 20 or more, before returning to Salem, Virginia as his place of birth and location of siblings. When the war was ended, his brother Robert Kyle remained crippled for several years until death and cared for by brother Charles and wife Adeline Hill Kyle who tried to tell her story to descendents as best she could know or remember. No. | Soldier Name | Side | Function | Regiment Name |
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| 1 | Kile, Ellis | Union | Infantry | 45th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry
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| 2 | Kile, George | Union | Infantry | 127th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry
| | 3 | Kile, John | Union | Infantry | 62nd Regiment, United States Colored Infantry
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UNITED STATES COLORED TROOPS
44th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry
Organized at Chattanooga, Tenn., April 7, 1864. Attached to District of Chattanooga, Dept. of the Cumberland, to November, 1864. Unattached, District of the Etowah, Dept. of the Cumberland, to December, 1864. 1st Colored Brigade, District of the Etowah, Dept. of the Cumberland, to January, 1865. Unattached, District of the Etowah, to March, 1865. 1st Colored Brigade, Dept. of the Cumberland, to July, 1865. 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, District of East Tennessee, July, 1865. Dept. of the Cumberland and Dept. of Georgia to April, 1866.
SERVICE.-Post and garrison duty at Chattanooga, Tenn., till November, 1864. Action at Dalton, Ga., October 13, 1864. Battle of Nashville, Tenn., December 15-16. Pursuit of Hood to the Tennessee River December 17-28. Post and garrison duty at Chattanooga, Tenn., in District of East Tennessee, and in the Dept. of Georgia till April, 1866. Mustered out April 30, 1866.
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No. | Soldier Name | Side | Function | Regiment Name |
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| 1 | Kyle, Charles | Union | Infantry | 44th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry
| | 2 | Kyle, Gaskill | Union | Infantry | 66th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry
| | 3 | Kyle, George | Union | Artillery | 1st Regiment, United States Colored Heavy Artillery
| | 4 | Kyle, George | Union | Cavalry | 5th Regiment, United States Colored Cavalry
| | 5 | Kyle, George W. | Union | Infantry | 45th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry
| | 6 | Kyle, Jackson | Union | Infantry | 52nd Regiment, United States Colored Infantry
| | 7 | Kyle, Lewis | Union | Artillery | 1st Regiment, United States Colored Heavy Artillery
| | 8 | Kyle, Nelson | Union | Infantry | 42nd Regiment, United States Colored Infantry
| | 9 | Kyle, Orange | Union | Cavalry | 6th Regiment, United States Colored Cavalry
| | 10 | Kyle, R. S. | Union | Infantry | 44th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry
| | 11 | Kyle, Stephen | Union | Artillery | 5th Regiment, United States Colored Heavy Artillery
| | 12 | Kyle, Thomas | Union | Artillery | 1st Regiment, United States Colored Heavy Artillery
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African American Sailors in the Union Navy | Name | Age | Complexion | Occupation | Home | | Kyle, Jessie | 30 | Negro | Farmer | Richmond, Virginia |
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