scoffed at in school because his father was raising a Negro Company to fight the white
men. (Emilio 10).
The decision to use the blacks as soldiers was by no means universally popular and was
also selfishly motivated. The decision to use the Negro as a soldier did not necessarily
grow out of any broad humanitarian resolve it seems to have come more largely out of
the dawning realization that, since the Confederates were going to kill a great many
more Union soldiers before the war was over, a good many white men would escape
death if a considerable percentage of those soldiers were colored. (Leckie 4). “Blacks
sought refuge behind the Union lines in greater and greater numbers throughout the
war” (Long 26). So why would blacks still want to fight for the country that did not
want them, but needed them to fight? Runaway slaves from the South joined the Union
army for two reasons: They wanted to protect themselves and escape the grasp of the
South, and they wanted to fight the evils of slavery. Frederick Douglas encouraged
blacks to join the Union cause. The first black regiment to be formed was the 1st
Kansas Colored Volunteers in October, 1862. There were doubts against this group from
their very beginning. In general, white soldiers and officers believed that black men
lacked the courage to fight and fight well. In October, 1862, African-American soldiers
of the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers silenced their critics by repulsing attacking
Confederates at the battle of Island Mound, Missouri. (Park Net 1) At the battle of Port
Hudson, Louisiana, May 27, 1863, the African-American soldiers bravely advanced over
open ground in the face of deadly artillery fire. Although the attack failed, the black
soldiers proved their capability to withstand the heat of battle.
On July 17, 1863, at Honey Springs, Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, the 1st Kansas
Colored fought with courage once again. Union troops under General James Blunt ran
into a strong Confederate force under General Douglas Cooper. After a two-hour bloody
engagement, Cooper’s soldiers retreated. The 1st Kansas, which had held the center of
the Union line, advanced to within fifty paces of the Confederate line and exchanged
fire for some twenty minutes until the Confederates broke and ran. General Blunt wrote
after the battle, “I never saw such fighting as was done by the Negro regiment. The
question if Negroes will fight is settled besides they make better soldiers in every
respect than any other troops I have ever had under my command.” After this battle,
black soldiers began to receive some respect. (Park Net 1). Even though the 1st
Kansas regiment and other colored groups were beginning to win many battles,
discrimination in pay and other areas remained widespread. “According to the Militia Act
of 1862, soldiers of African descent were to receive $10.00 a month, plus a clothing
allowance of $3.50. Many regiments struggled for equal pay, some refusing any money.
However, Congress granted equal pay for all black soldiers in June of 1864. The most
famous black regiment would have to be the 54th Massachusetts. On February 16,
1863, a call for black soldiers was published in the columns of the Boston Journal. In
five days, twenty-five men were secured. Much of the larger number of recruits were
obtained through black organizations in the Boston area. This regiment was to be lead
by Colonel Robert Shaw. This regiment has gained great popularity over the last decade
with the release of the Oscar-winning film Glory.
The most widely known battle fought by African-Americans was the assault on Fort
Wagner, South Carolina, by the 54th Massachusetts on July 18, 1863. The 54th
volunteered to lead the assault on the strongly-fortified Confederate positions. It was a
suicide mission from the start. But if the black soldiers had any success in the attack,
all doubts would be lifted for they would have defeated all odds. “To this
Massachusetts Fifty-fourth was set the stupendous task to convince the white race
that colored troops would fight, and not only would they fight, but that they could be
made, in every sense of the word, soldiers” (Emilio 17).
Your success hangs on the general success. If the Union lives, it will live with equal
races. If divided, and you have done your duty, then you will stand upon the same
platform with the white race. Then make use of the offers Government has made you
for if you are not willing to fight your way up to office, you are not worthy of it. Put
yourselves under the starts and stripes, and fight yourselves to the marquee of a
general, and you shall come out with a sword! (Emilio 14).
The soldiers of the 54th scaled the fort’s parapet, and were only driven back after
brutal hand-to-hand combat. A monument of the 54th and its slain leader Colonel
Robert Shaw was installed in Boston May 31st, 1897. Black soldiers participated in
every major campaign of 1864-1865 except Sherman’s invasion of Georgia. The year
1864 was especially eventful for black troops.
On April 12, 1864, at Fort Pillow, Tennessee, Confederate General Nathan Bedford
Forrest led his 2,500 men against the Union-held fortification, occupied by 292 black
and 285 white soldiers. After driving the Union pickets and giving the garrison an
opportunity to surrender, Forrest’s men swarmed into the fort with little difficulty and
drove the Federals down the river’s bluff into a deadly crossfire. Casualties were high
and only sixty-two of the US Color Troops survived the fight. Many accused the
Confederates of perpetuating a massacre of black troops, and the controversy
continues to this day. “The battle cry for the Negro soldier east of the Mississippi River
became ‘Remember Fort Pillow!’” (Park Net 5).
The Confederate army did not consider the usage of slaves throughout the war.
However, near the end when the future looked dismal, the South decided to use blacks
for the Confederate cause. “Leaders of the Confederacy considered schemes for the
enlistment of blacks in the armies and for their eventual freedom” (Long 26). However,
those who did serve in the Confederate army were not given their freedom by the
Confederate government, but rather by the North after the war had ended.
The United States Civil War began as an effort to save the Union, and ended in a fight
to abolish slavery. This battle for emancipation, some would argue, was won by the
slaves themselves. While this remains a debate, it is clear that the slaves did
contribute significantly to their own freedom. By running from masters to become
contrabands for the Union, laboring behind the scenes for the Northern armies, and
risking their lives on the battlefront, the slaves centralized the issue of freedom and
played a key role in the North’s victory. (New York Public Library 1).
In actual numbers, African-American soldiers comprised 10% of the entire Union Army.
Losses among African-Americans were high, and from all reported casualties,
approximately one-third of all African-Americans enrolled in the military lost their lives
during the Civil war. (Park Net 5). African-American soldiers, despite doubt and
prejudice by society, proved themselves to be formidable warriors on the battlefield.
They were just as deadly, if not deadlier, that their white counterparts. They won
many of the Civil War battles, and in doing so, won their independence. “Once let the
black man get upon his person the brass letters, US, let him get an eagle on his button,
and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pockets, and there is no power on earth
which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship in the United States” (Park
Net 1).