Black Troops In the North politicians soldiers and abolitionists began to debate the question of whether or not black troops should be recruited by the Union army almost as soon as the war began in the spring of 1861 The recruitment of black troops was controversial People who supported the idea believed the Union should use all the men it could to win the war They also saw an opportunity for black soldiers to win a more secure place in society for their race Many of those who were against black recruitment echoed racist attitudes found in the South As the whites debated many free blacks tried to enlist At this early stage in the war however the Lincoln administration was unwilling to enlist black soldiers The government still viewed the conflict as a white-only struggle for the unity of the country rather than a war to end slavery The Union’s changing policy Two new laws of July 1862 reflected a shift in government attitudes The Confiscation Act and Militia Act officially brought black people into the Union war effort and opened the way for the formation of black units in the army The Confiscation Act stated that all escaped slaves who came under Union control would be free and could be employed by the Union to suppress the Confederate rebellion The Militia Act gave the president the power to enroll persons of African descent for any war service including as soldiers Within weeks black regiments under white officers were being raised throughout the Union and in the Southern territories it controlled In New Orleans Louisiana the occupying Union governor Benjamin Butler raised three regiments of black militia enlisting both freedmen and escaped Curriculum Context Curricula might ask you to examine the motives of African American soldiers who fought in the Union armies Militia A military unit that is called upon only in times of emergency 10 Weapons Tactics and Strategy
slaves On the South Carolina coast former slaves formed the 1st South Carolina Volunteer Regiment while in the North freedmen joined the 54th Massachusetts In the west the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Regiment was made up of ex-slaves from Arkansas and Missouri This unit fought the first engagement by a black unit against the Confederates at Island Mound Missouri in October 1862 Although Union enlistment of black troops was underway by the end of 1862 discrimination was still widespread Doubts were raised whether African Americans could fight and many Union commanders saw black units merely as a source of labor to do menial or manual tasks It was only in summer 1863 that black soldiers had the chance to prove their worth On July 18 the 54th Massachusetts charged the Confederate stronghold at Fort Wagner South Carolina Although the assault failed the regiment’s courage proved the fighting quality of black soldiers Unequal pay Black soldiers were not paid the same as white soldiers A white Union soldier received on average 13 a month plus a 3 50 clothing allowance a black soldier only 10 a month less a 3 clothing deduction Black soldiers received no financial bounty on enlistment as white volunteers did Equal pay became a serious point of dispute with the Lincoln administration Abolitionists campaigned for it Men of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment having been promised equal pay on their enlistment refused any pay until the injustice was ended It was only in June 1864 that Congress finally gave black troops equal pay Remember Fort Pillow The Southern reaction to Union enlistment of black troops was violently hostile The Confederates did not regard black soldiers as prisoners of war but treated Curriculum Context Learn more about the 54th Massachusetts by watching the 1989 movie Glory which tells their story Bounty A one-off payment made to encourage men to enlist in the army Black Troops 11
them as runaway slaves Jefferson Davis declared that their white officers would be treated as criminals Black prisoners were often executed and many were sold back into slavery Atrocities occurred most notably at Fort Pillow Tennessee in April 1864 where only 62 of 262 black troops survived during the Confederate attack on a Union-held fort Remember Fort Pillow became a rallying cry among black troops United States Colored Troops In April 1863 Lorenzo Thomas the adjutant general traveled west to the Mississippi Valley to recruit regiments from the huge numbers of former slaves now living in areas under Union control These new regiments eventually came under the control of the Bureau of Colored Troops in Washington and were designated United States Colored Troops USCT Thomas met with tremendous success By the end of 1863 he had raised 20 regiments a year later he had 50 More than 180,000 men served in USCT infantry cavalry and artillery regiments during the war the majority from the states of Kentucky Louisiana Tennessee and Mississippi By the end of the Civil War black troops made up 10 percent of the Union army although only about 100 out of the tens of thousands recruited were commissioned as officers Sixteen black soldiers received the Medal of Honor The Union began to recruit black troops at the end of 1862 This photograph shows men of the 4th U S Colored Infantry at Fort Lincoln part of the Washington defenses Curriculum Context Students describing the different experiences between white and African American soldiers could mention the difficulty for black troops to be commissioned as officers 12 Weapons Tactics and Strategy
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor for gallantry in action was created by President Lincoln in 1863 Union navy The Union navy recruited black sailors from the start Faced with a huge manpower shortage it enlisted both free blacks and runaway slaves Between 1861 and 1865 about 18,000 black sailors served in the navy making up 15 percent of the total enlisted force Although no black sailor was ever promoted to officer rank eight black sailors received the Medal of Honor for bravery in battle Confederate attitudes In the Confederate states it was a point of principle among many not to allow blacks to become soldiers but senior officers recognized the Confederacy’s need for more soldiers even if it meant freeing slaves In February 1865 Robert E Lee urged President Jefferson Davis to recruit slaves and by March 13 the Confederate Congress had passed a law authorizing the use of black troops On April 1 1865 Colonel Otey of the 11th Virginia Infantry was ordered to recruit and train black units for the Confederate army but it was too late The end of the war and the end of the Confederacy came within a month A Liberating Army Letter from Private Spotswood Rice a Missouri black soldier to his enslaved daughters September 3 1864 My children I take my pen in hand to rite you a few lines to let you know that I have not forgot you and that I want to see you as bad as ever now my dear children I want you to be contented with whatever may be your lots Be assured that I will have you if it cost me my life on the 28th of the month 8 hundred White and 8 hundred blacke solders expects to start up the rivore to Glasgow and above there thats to be led by a general that will give me both of you When they come I expect to be with them and expect to get you both in return Don’t be uneasy my children I expect to have you If Diggs Kitty Diggs the slave-owner don’t give you up this Government will and I want her to remember if she meets me with ten thousand soldiers she will meet her enemy Black Troops 13
