Proposals to raise African American regiments in the Union's war efforts were at first met with trepidation by officials within the Union command structure, President
Abraham Lincoln included. Concerns over the response of the border states (of which one,
Maryland, surrounded in part the capital of
Washington D.C.), the response of white soldiers and officers, as well as the effectiveness of a fighting force composed of black men were raised. Despite official reluctance from above, the number of white volunteers dropped throughout the war, and black soldiers were needed, whether the population liked it or not. However, African Americans had been volunteering since the first days of war on both sides, though many were turned down. On July 17, 1862, the
U.S. Congress passed two statutes allowing for the enlistment of "colored" troops (African Americans) but official enrollment occurred only after the effective date of the
Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. However, state and local
militia units had already begun enlisting black men, including the "
Black Brigade of Cincinnati", raised in September 1862 to help provide manpower to thwart a feared Confederate raid on
Cincinnati from Kentucky, as well as black infantry units raised in Kansas, Missouri, Louisiana, and South Carolina. In March 1863, upon hearing that Andrew Johnson was open to recruiting blacks in Tennessee, Abraham Lincoln wrote him encouragement: "The colored population is the great available, and yet unavailed of, force for restoring the Union. The bare sight of 50,000 armed and drilled black soldiers upon the banks of the Mississippi would end the rebellion at once." In May 1863, Congress established the
Bureau of Colored Troops in an effort to organize black people's efforts in the war. African Americans served as medical officers after 1863, beginning with Baltimore surgeon
Alexander Augusta. Augusta was a senior surgeon, with white assistant surgeons under his command at
Fort Stanton, MD. In actual numbers, African-American soldiers eventually constituted 10% of the entire
Union Army (
United States Army). Losses among
African Americans were high: In the last year and a half and from all reported casualties, approximately 20% of all African Americans enrolled in the military lost their lives during the
Civil War.
Early battles in 1862 and 1863 In general, white soldiers and officers believed that black men lacked the ability to fight and fight well. In October 1862, African-American soldiers of the
1st Kansas Colored Infantry, in one of the first engagements involving black troops, silenced their critics by repulsing attacking
Confederate guerrillas at the
Skirmish at Island Mound,
Missouri, in the Western Theatre. By August, 1863, fourteen more Negro State Regiments were in the field and ready for service. Union General
Benjamin Butler wrote Better soldiers never shouldered a musket. I observed a very remarkable trait about them. They learned to handle arms and to march more easily than intelligent white men. My drillmaster could teach a regiment of Negroes that much of the art of war sooner than he could have taught the same number of students from Harvard or Yale.) with wife and daughters, |leftAt 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, with
General Nathaniel P. Banks recording in his official report: "Whatever doubt may have existed heretofore as to the efficiency of organizations of this character, the history of this day's proves...in this class of troops effective supporters and defenders." Noted for his bravery was Union Captain
Andre Cailloux, who fell early in the battle. This was the first battle involving a formal Federal African-American unit. On June 7, 1863, a garrison consisting mostly of black troops assigned to guard a supply depot during the
Vicksburg Campaign found themselves under attack by a larger Confederate force. Recently recruited, minimally trained, and poorly armed, the black soldiers still managed to successfully repulse the attack in the ensuing
Battle of Milliken's Bend with the help of federal gunboats from the Tennessee river, despite suffering nearly three times as many casualties as the rebels. At one point in the battle, Confederate General
Henry McCulloch noted The line was formed under a heavy fire from the enemy, and the troops charged the breastworks, carrying it instantly, killing and wounding many of the enemy by their deadly fire, as well as the bayonet. This charge was resisted by the negro portion of the enemy's force with considerable obstinacy, while the white or true Yankee portion ran like whipped curs almost as soon as the charge was ordered.
Fort Wagner, Fort Pillow, and beyond {{Quote box .|leftThe most widely-known battle fought by African Americans was the
assault on Fort Wagner, off the
Charleston coast,
South Carolina, by the
54th Massachusetts Infantry on July 18, 1863. The 54th volunteered to lead the assault on the strongly fortified Confederate positions of the earthen/sand embankments (very resistant to artillery fire) on the coastal beach. The soldiers of the 54th scaled the fort's parapet, and were only driven back after brutal hand-to-hand combat. Despite the defeat, the unit was hailed for its valor, which spurred further African-American recruitment, giving the Union a numerical military advantage from a large segment of the population the Confederacy did not attempt to exploit until too late in the closing days of the War. Unfortunately for any African-American soldiers captured during these battles, imprisonment could be even worse than death. Black prisoners were not treated the same as white prisoners. They received no medical attention, harsh punishments, and would not be used in a prisoner exchange because the Confederate states only saw them as escaped slaves fighting against their masters. After the battle, Secretary of War
Edwin Stanton praised the recent performances of black troops in a letter to Abraham Lincoln, stating "Many persons believed, or pretended to believe, and confidentially asserted, that freed slaves would not make good soldiers; they would lack courage, and could not be subjected to military discipline. Facts have shown how groundless were these apprehensions. The slave has proved his manhood, and his capacity as an infantry soldier, at Milliken's Bend, at the assault upon Port Hudson, and the storming of Fort Wagner." Many believed that the massacre was ordered by Forrest. The battle cry for some black soldiers became
"Remember Fort Pillow!" Infantry. Six weeks later, Black troops won a notable victory in their first battle of the
Overland Campaign in Virginia at the
Battle of Wilson's Wharf, successfully defending Fort Pocahontas. Before the battle, Confederate General
Fitzhugh Lee sent a surrender demand to the garrison in the fort, warning them if they did not surrender, he would not be "answerable for the consequences." Interpreting this to be a reference to the massacre at Fort Pillow, Union commanding officer
Edward A. Wild defiantly refused, responding with a message stating "Present my compliments to General Fitz Lee and tell him to go to hell.” In the ensuing battle, the garrison force repulsed the assault, inflicting 200 casualties with a loss of just 6 killed and 40 wounded. The
Battle of Chaffin's Farm,
Virginia, became one of the most heroic engagements involving black troops. On September 29, 1864, the African-American division of the Eighteenth Corps, after being pinned down by Confederate artillery fire for about 30 minutes, charged the earthworks and rushed up the slopes of the heights. During the hour-long engagement the division suffered tremendous casualties. Of the twenty-five African Americans who were awarded the
Congressional Medal of Honor during the Civil War, fourteen received the honor as a result of their actions at
Chaffin's Farm.
Discrimination in pay and assignments Although black soldiers proved themselves as reputable soldiers, discrimination in pay and other areas remained widespread. According to the
Militia Act of 1862, soldiers of African descent were to receive $10.00 per month, with an optional deduction for clothing at $3.00. In contrast, white privates received $12.00 per month plus a clothing allowance of $3.50. Many regiments struggled for equal pay, some refusing any money and pay until June 15, 1864, when the Federal Congress granted equal pay for all soldiers. Besides discrimination in pay, colored units were often disproportionately assigned laborer work, rather than combat assignments.
African-American contributions to Union war intelligence Black people, both enslaved and free, were involved in assisting the Union in matters of intelligence, and their contributions were labeled
Black Dispatches. One of these spies was
Mary Bowser.
Harriet Tubman was also a spy, a nurse, and a cook whose efforts were key to Union victories and survival. Tubman is most widely recognized for her contributions to freeing slaves via the
Underground Railroad. However, her contributions to the Union Army were equally important. She used her knowledge of the country's terrain to gain important intelligence for the Union Army. She became the first woman to lead U.S. soldiers into combat when, under the order of Colonel James Montgomery, she took a contingent of soldiers in South Carolina behind enemy lines, destroying plantations and freeing 750 slaves in the process. Black people routinely assisted Union armies advancing through Confederate territory as scouts, guides, and spies. Confederate General
Robert Lee said "The chief source of information to the enemy is through our negroes." In a letter to Confederate high command, Confederate general
Patrick Cleburne complained "All along the lines slavery is comparatively valueless to us for labor, but of great and increasing worth to the enemy for information. It is an omnipresent spy system, pointing out our valuable men to the enemy, revealing our positions, purposes, and resources, and yet acting so safely and secretly that there is no means to guard against it. Even in the heart of our country, where our hold upon this secret espionage is firmest, it waits but the opening fire of the enemy's battle line to wake it, like a torpid serpent, into venomous activity."
Union Navy (U.S. Navy) Unlike the army, the U.S. Navy had never prohibited black men from serving, though regulations in place since 1840 had required them to be limited to not more than 5% of all enlisted sailors. Thus at the start of the war, the Union Navy differed from the Army in that it allowed black men to enlist and was racially integrated. The
Union Navy's official position at the beginning of the war was ambivalence toward the use of either Northern free black people or runaway slaves. The constant stream, however, of escaped slaves seeking refuge aboard Union ships forced the Navy to formulate a policy towards them. Secretary of the Navy,
Gideon Wells in a terse order, pointed out the following; In time, the Union Navy would see almost 16% of its ranks supplied by African Americans, performing in a wide range of enlisted roles. In contrast to the Army, the Navy from the outset not only paid equal wages to white and black sailors, but offered considerably more for even entry-level enlisted positions. Food rations and medical care were also improved over the Army, with the Navy benefiting from a regular stream of supplies from Union-held ports. Becoming a commissioned officer was out of reach for nearly all black sailors. With rare exceptions, the rank of
petty officer was the highest available to black sailors, and in practice, only to free blacks (who often were the only ones with naval careers sufficiently long to earn the rank).
Robert Smalls, an escaped slave who freed himself, his crew, and their families by commandeering a Confederate transport ship,
CSS Planter, in Charleston harbor, on May 13, 1862, and sailing it from Confederate-controlled waters of the harbor to the U.S. blockade that surrounded it, was given the rank of captain of the steamer "Planter" in December 1864. ==Confederacy==