African American Military Service During the Civil War
By Peter Ruocco
This document chronicles African American military service during the Civil War from its inception until the war's end. It briefly describes the service of African Americans during the Revolutionary War, and the enlistment of about 3,000 men. The rest of the article focuses on the Civil War exclusively. African Americans served in such battles as Appomattox Court House, Vicksburg, and Fort Wagner. President Lincoln first allowed black soldiers to be trained in 1862 under the guidance of Rufus Saxton, and then allowed full-scale training after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. Among the black troops that actually fought in the war, the Massachusetts 54th Regiment was easily the most famous. They were led by Robert Gould Shaw, and battled at Port Hudson, Fort Wagner, and Milliken?s Bend. A second black unit was the First South Carolina Volunteer Regiment, which raided numerous Confederate strongholds along the Atlantic coast. Yet another black unit is the First Regiment Kansas Colored Troops. Also, some African Americans began training for the Confederate Army (under the promise of freedom), although they were never mustered into action. During the Civil War, 169,038 blacks went to battle as Union soldiers, but a mere 100,859 returned. Nearly 30,000 black men died of disease, while 3,000 died from battle wounds. [Editor's note: Figures vary by source. About 200,000 blacks served in the Union Army and Navy. The most recent research gives naval service at about 24,000. There were about 29,000 deaths from disease in black regiments, from a total of about 68,000 casualties for those in both services.] This led many people to believe that African Americans are more susceptible to disease than whites. In all, blacks played a crucial part of the Union war cause, and their actions will not be forgotten.
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