Compare and Contrast African American Soldiers in the Civil War From the North and South
The purpose of this paper is to introduce, discuss, and analyze the topic of American history. Specifically it will compare and contrast African American soldiers from the North and the South during the Civil War. African American soldiers did not make up a majority of troops during the Civil War. In fact, many Southern states would not allow black soldiers to organize and fight. However, several black regiments were formed on both sides, and did see quite a bit of action during the war. African American soldiers played an important part in the Civil War, and just as their brothers and sisters who toiled in bondage, their commanding officers and their leaders did not always treat them equally with their white counterparts.It was not until 1862 that African American soldiers could enlist in the Civil War. In 1862, President Lincoln created the Emancipation Proclamation, which called for black freedom from slavery once the war was over, and allowed blacks to enlist in the Northern Army. The Proclamation overruled a previous law from 1792 that kept blacks from enlisting. However, by the end of the Civil War, black soldiers filled the ranks on both sides. Historian Howard C. Westwood notes, "Black soldiers reversed potentia
Newspapers like "Harper's Weekly" and other media reported on the incident which kept it alive in the hearts and minds of the Northerners, and Lincoln did promise to look into the massacre, which did happen. It is still one of the most contentious times in Civil War history. Today Fort Pillow is a State Historic Area. Fort Pillow illustrates the great hatred the Confederacy had for black soldiers, and indicates the great prejudices that flowed before, during (and after) the war. This incident also indicates that black Union soldiers had very real fears if they were caught in Confederate territory. Two points of view from actual fighting men really show the contrast between experiences in the North and South. James Henry Gooding was a black sergeant in the Massachusetts Fifty-fourth Regiment. This Regiment became one of the most celebrated black regiments in history, and the film "Glory" tells the story of the regiment. Gooding, an educated and interesting man, wrote letters back home to New Bedford Massachusetts as he served in the war. These letters give insight into the life of a black Union soldier, and the difficulties they faced including pay and prejudice issues. The atrocity was so great that people throughout the Union called for retaliation. Several of Lincoln's cabinet members, including Secretary of State William Seward, Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton demanded that the Union execute an equal number of Confederate soldiers to "get even." Lincoln did not agree, and while he condemned the massacre, and instead decided to punish the people that were directly responsible for the massacre, including General Forrest. However, they were never brought to trial for the killings. There was an official investigation after the war, which found that "the Confederates were guilty of atrocities which included murdering most of the garrison after it surrendered, burying Negro soldiers alive, and setting fire to tents containing Federal wounded" (Simkin). Unfortunately, Forrest's hatred of Negroes continued throughout his life, and he went on to become the first Imperial Wizard of the notorious hate organization the Ku Klux Klan. In the North, black soldiers made up about 10 percent of the fighting force by the time the war ended. In addition, some estimates place black naval enlistment at nearly one-quarter of Union Navy personnel. Historian Virginia Matzke Adams notes, "There are no precise figures for the number of blacks who enrolled in the Union navy. Some estimates have placed the figure as high as 29,511, or 25 percent of the total force of 118,044 serving in the navy between 1861 and 1865" (Adams xxvii). There are also widely varying estimates of how many blacks served the Confederacy - anywhere from 25,000 to over 100,000. Records of many blacks in service were simply not kept during the war. However, by 1862, many things had changed in the Union. The Civil War was dragging on longer than many had thought it would. In addition, with Union victories in the South, many black slaves had been liberated, and there was growing interest in allowing these
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Approximate Word count = 2148
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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