Black Guys Essay, Research Paper
Black Soldiers in the Union Army
during the Civil War
Black Soldiers in the Civil War During the Seventeenth, Eighteenth and part
of the Nineteenth Century the White people of North America used the
Black people of Africa as slaves to benefit their interests. White people
created a climate of superiority of their race over the Black African race that
in some places, still lingers on today. The American Civil War however, was
a key turning point for the Black African race. Through their actions and the
political actions of President Lincoln and his administration, Black Africans
set a presedent for their freedom, equality and liberation. A very important
aspect of Blacks proving themselves was that of the Black Man acting as a
soldier in the Civil War. During the Civil War the official decision to use
Blacks as soldiers in the Union Army was a slow gradual process and a
series of strategic political decisions. The actual use of Blacks as soldiers in
the Union Army was completed by a series of actions the Black Man
performed that won him the respect of becoming a soldier. The two differ in
that it was to President Lincoln’s benefit to enlist Blacks as soldiers when he
did. Whereas the later was the Black Man’s will to fight for his freedom and
prove himself as an equal human being. However, because the Black
population was barred from entering the army under a 1792 law(4) the Black
Man becoming a soldier was not officially recognized until late 1862. “There
was strong anti-Black prejudice among most people in the free states, and in
the loyal slave states the idea of arming the Black man was anthema”(1). This
statement directly reflects the generally held fear White people had about
putting Blacks on the fighting line of the armies in the Civil War. Whites felt
that the Civil War was a war started upon the White Man’s issues and what
possible reason would the Black Man have for wanting to fight in this war.
On the contrary The Black Man saw The Civil War as an opportunity to win
freedom and gain respect(2). Blacks in the North who were free from slavery
willingly pledged their service to fight in the Union Army however, their
allegiance was denied by President Lincoln on political grounds. Lincoln
realized that the issue of Black soldiers would be intolerable by the public and
would not be accepted. Initially, the Union Army utilized Northern Blacks
from the free states to relieve Whites from daily tasks that were essential to
maintain the armies, thus freeing up White soldiers for battle. As the Union
Armies began to move further into Confederate territory however, they
encountered many runaway slave Blacks. These Blacks were the ones that
contributed most to the Union effort. This was true for two reasons. First,
there were many more Blacks in the South compared to the North, roughly
four million compared to two hundred thousand. Secondly, the Black people
in the South had more at stake, once they left the Confederate side to join
The Union there was no turning back. Not only would they be deemed as
trators but runaways as well and were likely to face death if they where
caught.(3) In the beginning, when Union Armies would encounter runaway
slaves they would either hold them until their owner retrieved them or they
would return these people to the proper Confederate Officials(1). This
became a major burden to the Union. Many generals did not want to be
regarded as “slave catchers” they realized their duty to be much more.
Because of this obstacle many Commanders enlisted the runaway Blacks for
their services without the consent of the Lincoln Administration. One instance
in particular, a precedent was set that would change the policy of using
Blacks in the Union army. Brig. Gen. Benjamin Butler had encountered
several runaway slaves. When A Confederate Officer under a flag of truce
had come to retrieve the slaves, Butler refused on the grounds that slaves
used by the Confederate Army during war was no different than the use of
machinery or any other tool to aid in their progress. Therefore, the Slaves
would be considered contraband just as any other tool would be(2). Shortly
after this precedent was set The Lincoln Administration passed The
Confiscation Act which stated that all Blacks encountered in confederate
territory were to be taken in and used at the Commanders descretion(1). This
proved to be a great help to the Union Army while a huge blow to the
Confederates. The Union was gaining manpower in direct proportion to the
Confederates loosing it. This alone played a huge factor in the success of the
Union Armies. Eventually the confiscation of southern slaves began to present
a problem for the Union. The amount of Blacks fleeing from the Confederate
side began to overwhelm the Union Armies. There were so many Blacks
fleeing from the Confederate side that Union Armies soon had more people
than they knew what to do with. The Union Armies had to find a place for
these people, so consequently a decision had to be made. Many of the men
and most all of the women and children were put to use on deserted
Confederate plantations. Of coarse there was always a threat of Confederate
rebels attacking these once owned plantations and retrieving their slaves, so
the Union allocated soldiers to protect these plantations. This proved to
become a real asset for The Union. Not only where they commandeering
new land and moving further into Confederate territory, The Union utilized
this rich land and labor to supply it’s armies with foodstuffs and other
resources.(3) As the use of Blacks became more commonplace in the Union
Armies their position began to evolve. Many Generals prematurely began to
use the Black Man as a soldier. Without consent from Washington these
Generals armed the Black Man and put them into a soldiers position. This
action was not supported by Lincoln and in fact looked down upon.
However, this began to happen throughout many of the Union Armies and
became so prevalent that Lincoln could not ignore it(1). Lincoln was caught
between a rock and a hard place. On one hand the reality was obvious that
the war was not going to end and that the Union Armies needed more man
power. On the other, Lincoln knew that the public was not ready to see the
Black Man armed and used as a soldier. Being the keen politician that
Lincoln was he made a small step towards the inevitable. Lincoln declared a
“general arming” could be used to employ the Blacks in security measures so
they could further protect the lines of the Union Armies(1). This was the
official beginning in the progression of the Black Man to becoming a soldier in
the Civil War.