Blacks in the American Civil War
Despite extreme prejudices from the white society, African American soldiers were true heroes in the American Civil War. At the beginning of the Civil War, Lincoln called for a recruitment of 75,000 men. Many blacks came to volunteer, but were sent away unwanted. Most of the white population considered the Civil War to be a 'White man's war.' Gov. David Todd had said, "This is a white man's government, and we are able to defend and protect it" (McRae). Although very few, there were some white generals who wanted to recruit blacks into the Army. Lincoln's reasoning behind not letting blacks into the Army was because he wanted to preserve the Union, without having to deal with the issue of slavery. In addition, he did not want the Border States to separate from the Union and join the Confederacy. If he let blacks join the Army, then white soldiers would have refused to fight with them. Many people felt that blacks were not able to fight as well as whites, and considered it a waste to enlist them. Gov. John Andrews of Massachusetts said, "It is not my opinion that our generals, when any man comes to the standard and desires to defend the flag, will find it important to light a candle and
The Emancipation Proclamation also let blacks into the military, though many still believed they would make poor soldiers. "They will run at the first sign of danger!" (McRae). Approximately 185,000 blacks served in the Union Army, consisting of 163 regiments. Many more blacks served in the Union Army, both free blacks and runaway slaves joined the Union Army (Colored Troops in the Civil War). As the Union drove into the Confederate territory, slaves would try to take refuge in the Union camps. In the beginning when they were caught the Union sent them to their owners, but after a period of time the Union decided to let them perform support service for the Northern war effort. In time as many as 200,000 blacks worked as laborers, cooks, teamsters, and occasionally spies. Fredrick Douglass, a powerful black leader in New York, saw the Civil War as a road to emancipation for the slaves. This idea of emancipation presented problems in the North. Most northerners, although opposed to slavery, were convinced of black inferiority, many feared the emancipation would cause a mass movement of Southern blacks to the North. In addition, northerners were worried about losing the Border States because those states supported slavery. On Sept. 22, 1862, Lincoln issued an order to free the slaves, which declared that on Jan. 1, 1863, all slaves in the Confederacy would be free forever. Id did not include states in the Union though, which was so the Border States would remain loyal. On Jan. 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the final order as the Emancipation of Proclamation. Later in 1865, Lincoln helped push through congress the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery throughout the nation. Although known as the "Great Emancipator," Lincoln also thought that blacks were inferior to whites in battle. The most widely known battle fought by blacks, was the assault on Fort Wagner, South Carolina. On Jul.18 1863, the 54th Massachusetts volunteered to lead the assault on the strongly fortified Confederate position. It was a suicide mission from the start, but if they succeeded in the attack, a
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Approximate Word count = 1414
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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