The Colored Troops Division, an agency of the Adjutant General's Office, was organized by War Department General Orders No. 143, dated May 22, 1863. The functions of the office included all matters pertaining to the recruitment, organization, and service of colored troops and officers thereof. In 1879 the remaining business of the Freedmen's Branch (which had absorbed some of the duties of the defunct Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands in 1872) was delegated to this division. It was consolidated with the Volunteer Service Division in 1888 and was transferred therewith to the Record and Pension Division of the War Department by War Department Orders of July 16, 1889.
From the description of Records of the Colored Troops Division (a subgroup), 1863-1889. (National Archives Library). WorldCat record id: 86133899
