U.S. Colored Troops

Amanda Barbee

5th period

 

 


 

 

 

 


U.S. Colored Troops

 

            “Once let the Black man get upon his person the brass letters U.S. and Eagle on his button and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket and there is no power on Earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship in the U.S.”(Fredrick Douglas).

 

            Colored troops played a big part in the Civil War.  Many people say that the Union would not have been able to win without these soldiers on their side.  These Colored troops have a long story to tell of how they helped win the Civil War.


 


First Involvement

The slave’s involvement in the war all started when the Confederate Congress passed a law allowing the Confederacy to draft slaves to help build forts.  This law really angered the planters.  They knew that this allowed slaves to learn about roads, rivers, and firearms.  Some of the slaves even studied the troop movements.  As the slaves learned more and more, they began to disobey their owners.  They would refuse to do work and sometimes talk back to their masters.  Also, as the slaves built the forts, they learned the lay of the land.  So it became easier for them to escape. 

 

            Slaves would flee the confederates and would travel with the Union Armies.  One place that many of the slaves fled to was Fort Monroe.  Fort Monroe was named after Ex- President, James Monroe.  This was also where Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, was imprisoned after he was captured.  General Butler, general at Fort Monroe, declared that the slaves were “contraband of war” and refused to

 

General Butler

 

release them to their owners.  In the next two months after this announcement, Fort Monroe had three thousand escaped slaves within its walls.  Although the slaves were accepted at Fort Monroe, many slaves were turned away when they came to Union lines.  Some people just weren’t quite ready for this change.

 

 

 

 

Emancipation Proclamation

 

           


Even though the slaves were escaping and finding shelter behind Union lines, they still had a few more steps to take before they were free.  The


Emancipation Proclamation was one of those steps.  At the start of the war, Lincoln said that they were fighting to preserve the Union and not to end slavery.  But ending slavery was part of his agenda.  Lincoln said:  “If I could save the Union without freeing any slaves, I would do it; and if I could save the Union by freeing all the slaves I would it; and if I could do it by freeing some slaves and leaving others alone, I

President Lincoln


would also do that”.   He was definitely keeping an open mind about the situation.  Lincoln had written the proclamation a long time before he issued it.  He kept it a secret until he mentioned it to the Secretary of State on July 13, 1862.  He had to wait for the right moment to bring the proclamation out in the open.  That opportunity came after the battle of Antietam.  The Proclamation became official on January 1, 1863.

           

President Lincoln and General McClellan in the General’s tent after the battle of Antietam.

 

The proclamation itself freed all the slaves in the states in rebellion, or the states in the confederacy.  This did not include the slave states in the Union.  Unlike what a lot of people believe, the Emancipation Proclamation did not actually free the slaves.  It only confirmed the slaves beliefs that the war was being fought to free them.  It also announced that the Union would accept black men into the army. 


 

 

Battles Fought by Colored Troops

 

           


The colored regiments fought in every major battle in the Civil War except for Sherman’s campaign through Georgia.  One famous battle they fought in was the battle of Fort Hudson.  This battle took place on May 21-July 9, 1863.  The troops involved were the 19th Army Corps and Army of the Gulf, led by Major General Nathaniel P. Banks.  The colored troops charged forward under heavy artillery fire.  They were very brave, but the charge failed.  Other troops then tried again, and the battle ended in a Union victory.

           

            One of the most famous battles fought by colored troops was the battle of Fort Wagner in Charleston, South Carolina.  The troop involved was the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw.  This regiment was the first black regiment raised in a free state.  How this regiment performed determined whether there would be any more Negro regiments.  People wanted to see how the colored soldiers performed.  The defenses at the Fort were weakened, but they had strong earthworks.  The men inside the fort out numbered the 54th.  The battle started with the colored troops charging over a ¾ mile stretch of beach.  When they got two hundred yards from the fort, the Confederates began firing.  Men were falling everywhere, but the regiment did not stop.  They crossed a huge ditch in front of the fort and Colonel Shaw stood in front of his men.  He shouted “Forward, Fifty Fourth!” and was shot in the heart.  The troops still continued on, but were eventually pushed back.  More troops arrived, but they were also defeated.  The Confederates were angry that the Union commanders had armed blacks.  They buried Colonel Shaw in a grave with his black soldiers.  They thought they were insulting him, but actually his parents felt that was the way he would have wanted it.  Even though the Colored troops were defeated, they performed bravely and the Union recognized that.  This definitely would not be the last black regiment.

 

            Another very famous battle fought by colored troops was the Massacre at Fort Pillow, which was located just north of Memphis Tennessee.  This battle was fought on April 12, 1864.  There were Union soldiers staying in the fort at the time.  The black soldiers staying there brought their families there to live with them.  The confederates hated the fort because there were Negroes in uniform, whites were fighting with the Negroes, and those whites were supposed to be loyal to the Confederacy.  They decided to attack the fort.  The Confederates attacked the fort shouting “No Quarter!” which means “no mercy”.  And that’s exactly what they showed them.  They killed everyone in the fort, including women and children.  General Nathan Forrest led this massacre.  In later battles, many black troops fought, shouting “Remember Fort Pillow”. 

 

            The black troops fought courageously.  Sometimes, more courageously than the white soldiers did. 

 

 

 

How Colored Troops Were Treated

 

           


The colored troops were respected by many because of their courage.  A commander of Colored Troops said:  “They are attentive and enthusiastic, eager to take the field and be led into action”.  This shows the troops’ willingness to fight for their country.  A white general said:  “When the Negroes first came to the camps, they tended to look down at the ground as if they were slaves.  After a while, they began to straighten themselves, throw back their shoulders, stand erect, and very soon look God straight in the face”.  After finding out what an impact they could make, the troops began to gain pride and self-respect.  Many people had these attitudes about the colored troops.  They respected them and felt that they contributed a lot to the Union.  Lincoln said:  “If Negro troops had been taken from the Union side, then the Union would have been forced to abandon the war”.  A lot of people believe that the Union wouldn’t have won without the colored troops. 

 

            Even though they were respected for their courage, they were still looked down upon.  One big problem they had was the poor conditions at the camps.  They were given the hardest camp work, poorest equipment, and the worst medical care.  They also suffered from many diseases such has small pox, measles, and rheumatism more that the white soldiers did. 

 

            The colored troops suffered greatly on the battlefield.  They served in over two hundred battles, and they were often at the front of the attack.  They suffered through the death of thirty-six thousand of their fellow colored soldiers

 

One last problem they had was that they suffered socially.  In the camps, the white soldiers made fun of them.  In most cases, they did not get the same rights as the white soldiers.  One major event that happened as a result of the recruiting of blacks was the riot in New York City.  The people came to New York, protesting the drafting of black soldiers.  At this riot, several black men were killed.  And the ones that were spared ended up leaving the city. 

 

So, the black soldiers were even more courageous because of the hardships they faced on and off the battlefield. 


 

What Happened to Black Soldiers After the War?

 

After the war was over, the government practically abandoned the black soldiers.  The soldiers would return to their masters, but would be turned away.  They had no where to go.  They didn’t get any benefits from being a war veteran, like the white soldiers did.  But, in 1880, congress changed the law.  Black Civil War veterans were now able to receive pension and disability payments.  But most of the men were in their sixties and seventies by then. 

Even though they were able to receive support from the government, a lot of the blacks didn’t get any of the rewards.  When they enlisted, they signed in under the name given to them by their masters.  After the war, they changed their names, so record of their participation in the war didn’t exist.

 

Blacks Honored After the War

 

There were many awards given to black soldiers after the war.  Sixteen African-Americans received the Medal of Honor.  One of those men was Thomas R. Hawkins.  He was presented with the Medal of Honor on February 8, 1870 because “He rescued the Regimental colors”.  James Gardiner received the Medal of Honor on April 6, 1865 because he “Rushed in advance of his brigade, shot a rebel officer who was on the parapet rallying his men, and then ran him through with his bayonet”.  Christian Fleetwood was presented with the Medal of Honor on August 19, 1863 because he “Seized the colors, after two color bearers had been shot down, and bore them nobly through the fight”.  Alexander Kelly received the Medal of Honor on April 6, 1865 because he “Gallantly seized the colors, which had fallen near the enemy’s lines of abatis, raised them and rallied the men at a time of confusion and in a place of the greatest danger”.  And lastly, Powhatan Beaty was presented with the Medal of Honor on April 6, 1865 because he “Took command of his company, all the officers having been killed or wounded, and gallantly led it”. 

Later, in September of 1996, there was a five-day celebration for the descendants of the United States Colored Troops (USCT) members.  Also, in 1998 there was a National Memorial built to honor the USCT soldiers.