14 Facts About Peter Bruner

Peter Bruner escaped enslavement to join the Union Army during the Civil War.

Peter Bruner's mother had three children, including Peter, and would fight with her master John Bell Bruner over her children.

When Bruner was about 10 years old John Bell Bruner was offered $800 for Peter, but told the man that "he was growing into money" and before long would be worth $200 more than that.

Peter Bruner was removed from his mother at a young age and worked as a tanner; he was hired out to work for others.

Peter Bruner served in western and central Kentucky, performing garrison duty.

Peter Bruner was mustered out of the army in 1866 and went to Winchester, Kentucky, to visit his mother, whom he had not seen for 18 years, before moving to Ohio.

Peter Bruner is listed on plaque B-26 at the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington, DC.

Peter Bruner worked as a custodian and messenger at Western Female Seminary, Oxford College, which merged into Miami University.

Peter Bruner was the first African-American man to work at Miami University.

Peter Bruner often served as ceremonial greeter at the university, wearing top hat and tails.

In 1936, Peter Bruner was interviewed for the Works Progress Administration Slave Narrative Collection.

Peter Bruner left out personal information and did not delve into the more complex natures of individuals and the communities in which he lived.

The WPA interview resulted in a couple of typed pages; Peter Bruner's book was 54 pages in length.

Peter Bruner died on April 6,1938, and is one of the African-American Civil War Veterans buried in Woodside Cemetery, Oxford, Ohio.