FLOL 3 The Civil War

Black people from both the North and the South participated in The Civil War in a number of ways. At the outset, the North and South opposed blacks enlisting as Soldiers. However, the Confederacy used slaves in the beginning as military laborers. The War Department refused to recruit blacks arguing that this was a "white man's war". Free blacks from the North tried to join as Soldiers early in the war. They wanted to free slaves in the South and also felt they could improve their chances of gaining equal rights in American society by proving their patriotism and courage on the battlefield. In the North, prejudice prevented blacks from enlisting into the Union Army until 1862. The North enlisted about 100,000 blacks to fight in the war. In the South, black slaves performed much of the heavy labor that was required to prepare the Confederacy for war. They built forts, dug trenches, hauled artillery and supplies, set up army camps, and acted as cooks and servants to the Confederate Soldiers. In the Union Navy, blacks served under integrated conditions but with no rank higher than "Boy" (the lowest rating). Congress granted equal pay to the U.S. colored troops and made the payroll action retroactive. More than 186,000 black Soldiers served in 16 Union Regiments, participating in 39 major battles. While it is unclear how many black Soldiers died in combat, about 38,000 died or were reported missing. The Army was reluctant to commission black Soldiers -- only 100 were commissioned as Officers during the war. The 54th Massachusetts was the first northern black Volunteer Regiment. It was composed predominantly of free blacks, not runaway slaves. Only a few black Soldiers fought for the Confederacy although it is unclear how many black Soldiers died in combat. Sergeant William Carney earned the Medal of Honor for bravery at Fort Wagner. Following The Civil War, the Army disbanded volunteer colored Regiments, and established six regular Army Regiments of black troops with white Officers.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• For Love of Liberty
• Civil War
• black soldiers
• slavery
• military