Jessica Savage

March 15, 2001

1st period

 

 

 

Black Regiments in the Civil War

 

            For more than two centuries, African Americans have played a role throughout U.S. history.  Their regiments have fought courageously in every war that Americans have engaged in. Although there were black soldiers in other wars, they weren’t as important as the regiments the civil war.  With 7 cavalries, 12 heavy artillery regiments and 1 light artillery regiment, and 140 infantry regiments blacks had a very significant part in this war.  Those brave soldiers fought for what they believed in and helped change history for the better.

            Many events lead up to African Americans being in the war.  From the beginning slaves had wanted their freedom. Previous wars gave a few slaves just that, but most of the slaves had to think of other ways to get their freedom.  A number of slaves had rebelled against their slave owners in hopes of getting their freedom.  On of the most significant was Nat Turner’s rebellion in 1831.  Preacher and slave, Turner and 70 other blacks went on a killing frenzy in Virginia, killing almost 60 whites.  Although Turner and his followers were later caught and killed, his rebellion along with a few others inspired other slaves to rebel against their owners.  These rebellions proved that blacks were very determined and were ready to fight for what they believed in.

            In the first years of the war blacks didn’t have a great part.  Many blacks couldn’t fight.  In mid 1862, Union Commander General David Hunter decided to change things.  On April 3 Hunter asked permission to arm blacks for military purposes.  Although he got no response he tried to recruit his own soldiers.  This later failed because there was no money to pay for them and no support from the war department. Then on May 9 of the same year Hunter issued a proclamation freeing all slaves in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.  For some slaves this was some hope, but for most of the slaves in these states, the proclamation didn’t mean anything.  There was no way to guarantee their freedom and many slaves didn’t even hear about the proclamation.  The proclamation didn’t do anything for any of the slaves. Lincoln didn’t have any knowledge of this proclamation either until after it was issued.  So on May 19 Lincoln had the proclamation repealed saying that no general had the authority to declare any slave free or not free and Hunter was out of line.  In spite of the fact that Hunter failed, he urged people to try and get slaves enlisted in the war.  His was one of the first attempts.

            Frederick Douglass was also a person who encouraged blacks to fight in the war.  Ex-slave, abolitionist, and advisor to the president, Douglass spent most of his life trying to help slaves.  He wrote countless books inspiring blacks and encouraging participation of blacks in the war.  He inspired many to do so.  Most of his books dealt with his own experiences and problems he faced, but they too inspired blacks.

            Although blacks were allowed to fight until later, some still had helped in the war.  Although they worked the thankless jobs, this was the first participation of blacks in the war.  Some cooked and did laundry for the soldiers. Others were spies.  There were many other small jobs that blacks had during the war, but they later lead to blacks being able to fight.

After Hunter’s proclamation came Lincoln’s proclamation.    The Emancipation Proclamation, issued on the first of January in 1863, freed all slaves in the Confederacy except for slaves in Tennessee, Southern Louisiana, and parts of Virginia.  Lincoln also told of his plans to start enlisting blacks into the war.  For blacks this meant that they would be enlisted into the war.  Many slaves in the territories affected by the emancipation proclamation didn’t hear of it, and those who did still weren’t free.  Just as in Hunter’s proclamation, there was no way to guarantee their freedom.  So many slaves ran to Union lines.  More and more slaves crossed onto Union territories and then enlist began.

            Lincoln wasn’t the first to start enlisting blacks troops.  Formed by General Benjamin Butler, the first real black regiments enlisted in the Civil War were the regiments of the Louisiana Native Guards on August 2,1862.  They also went by the name Corps d’Afrique.  This group consisted of both slaves and free blacks.   Although they began as Confederate soldiers and were part of the Louisiana Militia, they soon switched sides and became the first black regiment in the Union Army.  They fought bravely in several encounters, including Port Hudson and Mobile.

             At the same time, Kansas was also recruiting blacks.  This regiment started in August of 1862, but was not mustered in until January of the following year.  This regiment was known as the First Kansas Colored Volunteers, but soon changed its name to the 79th United States Colored Infantry.

            In 1863 recruiting black troops started to spread quickly.  In the south, South Carolina was one of the firsts to pick up on it.  A regiment called the First South Carolina began in early May of 1862.  It wasn’t mustered in until January 31, 1863.  Formed by General Hunter and Sergeant Trowbrige and lead by Colonel Higginson it became the first slave regiment organized.  It too later decided to change sides and changed its name in February of 1864.  It was then known as the Thirty-third United States Colored Infantry.

            Mississippi was another Confederate State with early black regiments.  Mississippi had numerous troops that fought in countless battles.  In one there were several black regiments, including the 1st Mississippi.  This regiment was part of a special organization along with two other black regiments.  They were very well trained.  Only 3 soldiers died and 21 others were wounded. 

            The north also had many black regiments.  Two of the states that had the most regiments were Massachusetts and Connecticut.   In February of 1863, the 54th Massachusetts was organized.  Its ten companies were organized later in May.  It was known to be the first black regiment to start out in the North. Like many other regiments in the north, it was mostly free blacks.  This group fought in many battles and had some of the bravest fighters.  Connecticut had many troops too.

            After inspiring many blacks to recruit, Frederick Douglass helped recruit some himself.  In the north many people were encouraged to recruit soldier.  Douglas did just that.  He recruited many blacks and some believe he recruited some of his own family member.  Some people didn’t like Douglas recruiting blacks.  They didn’t like the idea of blacks having that much power.  Douglas still continued to recruit.

            Early in the war Jefferson Davis, Confederate president, wrote a proclamation stating that any captured black soldiers and their Union officers were not to be treated as prisoners, but property of the Confederacy.  He didn’t like the idea of runaway slaves or any blacks being allowed to fight against the Confederacy.  He also didn’t like the idea of blacks being able to recruit other blacks. 

Davis was not the only one who felt this way.  Many southern generals felt the same way.  Some of them threatened to kill any black soldiers and the officers in the Union.  One of them actually did this.  Not until later in the war when the South started recruiting did they like the idea of blacks fight in the war.

After black regiments began to expand, some blacks started to fill differently about being in the war.  Many blacks believed that slavery would flourish if the Union won.   Many of them wondered why they should fight when millions of white soldiers were fighting with them.  A group of blacks were completely against fighting for their freedom.  Their theory was that the soldiers and abolitionist would get them their freedom. 

There were others that were felt that the only way to get their freedom was to fight.  They fought diligently to get their freedom.  These blacks became officers in black regiments.  Despite their rank they weren’t treated fairly by other officers. They received less money than their fellow white officers did.  Black officers didn’t get any respect either.  Their own men did not follow their orders.  Many of the white officers didn’t want the troops that were lead by black officers going with them.  They said that those troops just slowed them down.  Sergeant Stephen A. Swailes, a black man of Co. F, thought black officers were not treated justly.  “We look forward to the day when any colored man, who is competent, shall be assigned to the position that his qualifications call him to.  We have sergeants in this Regiment that can handle a company as well as any white man in the army.  Will any of them be promoted to a captaincy?  We will see” Some were treated nicely though.

In these regiments there were thousands of black soldiers known as buffalo soldiers.  They got this name form Native Americans because their hair resembled that of a buffalo’s.  They were supposed to be some of the toughest fighters.  Even Lincoln stated that slaves were well built, had a strong passion for fighting, and would make great soldiers that would work hard to win.

Many of the black soldiers that fought in the war wanted to fight for the union.  Most of them actually did.  Black union soldiers for the most part were dressed just like other union soldiers according to rake.  So were most of the confederate soldiers.  On both sides black soldiers used the same arms as the others.   They were even allowed to fight with other white soldiers although many people didn’t approve of it.

Still, just like black officers, black soldiers were treated differently.  They received less pay and their clothing was not a nice as white soldiers.  They didn’t get any respect from their fellow soldiers.  Many thought that that wasn’t fair.  Some began to complain about it.  One soldiers said, We have fought like men… but still we are refused the $13 per month…  All we ask is the rights of other soldiers-liberty of other free men…” Near the end of the war, some soldiers did receive equal pay and better treatment. 

Black prisoners were also treated different than white prisoners.  On April 12, 1864 there was a great massacre at For Pillow in Tennessee.  On that Tuesday the Confederacy took over the fort.  They did not allow any be killed.   Instead General Nathan B. Forrest ordered them to suffer torturous deaths.  Most of them were shot down.  One by one the soldiers fell.  Some were tortured worse than that.  A few of them were actually burned alive.  The South held those who were not killed on the battlefield.  Some went to prison camps and then died there.

Despite their unfair treatment the soldiers still fought very courageously.  These soldiers were engage in almost 450 battles, 39 being major battles.  From Vicksburg, Mississippi to Petersburg, Virginia, to Fort Donelson, Tennessee blacks have played a big part in the war.    They were known for their brave fighting and their determination to achieve their goal.

Thousands of blacks had died in the war.  More were wounded, but they achieved their goal.  The soldiers in the black regiments fought hard and fought fiercely and although they were mistreated most of the time, continued to fight until the end of the war.  This is when the black regiments finally paid off.  People saw the will power and diligence of those blacks in the war.   Those who fought in the war felt like they actually had a part in society.  Although they didn’t get much more respect after the war than they did before the war, slaves got their freedom and owe it to the black regiments who fought so hard in the war to prove themselves and their strength.

           

 

 

 

Jessica Savage

March 15, 2001

1st period

 

Bibliography

 

1.     Katz, William Loren. Breaking the Chains: African-American Slave Resistance.  New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1990.

 

I didn’t like this book.  It didn’t help me much.  It had a lot of information on blacks in U.S. history, but barely any on blacks in the Civil War.

 

2.     Franklin, John Hope. From Slavery to Freedom, A History of Negro Americans Third Edition. New York: Alfred A Knopf Inc., 1967.

 

This book was a lot of help.  It didn’t have a ton of information about black regiments, but it had a lot of information I could use.  I liked this book.

 

3.     Trudeau, Noah Andre. Like Men of War. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1998.

 

I liked this book very much.  It was very informational.  The whole book was about black regiments in the civil war.  It contained a lot of information about events that lead up to the war and the end of the war too.  It was a very helpful book.

 

4.     Taylor, Susie King. A Black Woman’s Civil War Memoirs. New York: Markus Wiener Publishing, 1988.

 

I didn’t really use this book that much.  Although it had a lot of information, it was too confusing to understand. 

 

5.     http://www.coax.net/people/lwf/data.htm United States Colored Troops in the Civil War.

 

This site was very informational.  I liked it a lot.

 

6.     http://www.civilwarhome.com/chapt6.htm Fox’s Regimental Losses, Chapter VI, The Colored Troops.

 

This site was also informational.  I like it too.

 

7.     http://www.nps.gov/fols/Buffalo_Soldier/body_buffalo_soldier.html Buffalo Soldiers

 

The site didn’t really have that much information.  I didn’t really like it.