Black History in the Inspection Service
The United States Postal Inspection Service has a long history of hiring persons of all colors and creeds. During Black History Month, we want to focus our attention on some of the influential Black figures from our agency’s history.
Isaac Myers (1870)
Isaac Myers was born in 1835 to free parents in a slave state (MD). During his early life, he apprenticed under James Jackson as a ship caulker. During the Civil War, Myers enlisted and served in the Maryland Potomac Home Brigade as a clerk. Finding himself unemployed after the war, Myers began the Colored Caulkers Trade Union Society in 1866.
The union's success quickly gained the attention of the National Labor Union. In 1869, Myers was elected the president of the Colored National Labor Union. Myers was extremely influential, assisting important abolitionist figures like Frederick Douglas. Myers was heavily involved in the Baltimore community. In 1870, he was appointed a detective of the Baltimore Post Office, and he served until 1879 as the first known African American Special Agent.
Robert James Harlan
Rober Harlan was born into slavery on December 12, 1816. Harlan was the illegitimate son of Kentucky politician and slave holder, James Harlan. Although he was a slave, he was raised in the household of his father, James. In 1848, James Harlan appeared in court to formally emancipate his son. Now a free man, Robert Harlan was extremely ambitious. During the 1849 Gold Rush, he was very successful, giving him ample income to start investing.
During Reconstruction, Harlan befriended Ulysses S. Grant and became part of the northern Black elite and a major African-American activist. In 1873m President Grant appointed Harlan Special Agent of the Post Office and U.S. Treasury. Later, in 1878, Harlan commissioned a battalion of 400 African-American men that would later be absorbed into the 372nd Infantry Regiment in WWII.
Stagecoach Mary Fields (1890s)
"Stagecoach Mary" was born into slavery in 1832 and gained emancipation during the Civil War. She began working on steamboats and later transitioned to working for a convent. Standing 6-feet tall, Mary was well-known for having a temper and being an overall tough character. She was introduced by one of the nuns to the Postal Service, and she earned a contract as a Star Route Carrier at the age of 60. She became the first African-American woman to carry the mail.
Star Route Carriers were essential in helping Postal Inspectors in the Wild West. These carriers protected both themselves and the mail from the dangers lurking during transportation. "Stagecoach Mary" was one of the fastest and most reliable carriers of the her time. She was know to always carry a rifle and .38 revolver, and she had an impeccable shot. Her aim and ferocity were ideal for her position.
George B. Hamlet
Originally from Ohio, and of mixed descent, George B. Hamlet was an active politician in a time of widespread racial prejudice. To avoid discrimination, Hamlet hid his African ancestry until 1900. In 1873, he was elected mayor of Monroe, Louisiana, and sheriff of Ouachita Parish in 1874. He was known as a an advocate for African Americans, often stirring controversy with his decisions.
In 1897, Hamlet was appointed chief postal inspector and was held in high regard with the Postal Inspection Service. Eventually, charges were brought against him, claiming his motive for political activism was for personal gain. But he ultimately kept his position, remaining admired and respected until his retirement. After his African lineage was made public, Louisiana recognized Hamlet as the first African American to hold his positions in the state. Today, he is recognized as the firs African American Chief Postal Inspector.
Charles A. Preston
Because much of the Inspection Service's history has only been uncovered in recent decades, Charles A. Preston (appointed in 1962) was once considered the first African American postal inspector. Preston was a graduate of Lincoln University and, prior to his selection as a inspector, was a distribution clerk in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
He quickly worked his way up and completed basic training for postal inspectors. He was assigned to the Philadelphia Division until transferring to the Postal Field Division at the Eastern Region Headquarters. Preston remained a vital part of the Inspection Service until his retirement in 1986. He stated in the summer of 1990 that his two greatest accomplishments in life were graduating college and becoming a postal inspector.
Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale
Currently, the top position of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is held by Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale. Barksdale began his law enforcement career as a police officer in Chesapeake, Virginia, serving as an officer and a detective. In 1999, he was appointed as a United States postal inspector and went on to serve in the Los Angeles, Houston, Phoenix, and Washington Divisions.
In 2016, Barksdale became a deputy chief inspector, leading the Postal Inspection Service against the nation's opioid epidemic through the Contraband interdiction and Investigation Group. In 2019, he was appointed chief postal inspector overseeing all operations of the Postal inspection Service, which includes National headquarters, 16 field divisions, two service centers, and a national forensics laboratory.
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