Black Soldiers in the Civil War

By the end of the Civil War, roughly 179,000 black men (10% of the Union Army) served as soldiers in the U.S. Army and another 19,000 served in the Navy. Nearly 40,000 black soldiers died over the course of the war—30,000 of infection or disease. Black soldiers served in artillery and infantry and performed all noncombat support functions including carpenters, chaplains, cooks, guards, laborers, nurses, scouts, spies, steamboat pilots, surgeons, and teamsters also contributed to the war cause. There were nearly 80 black commissioned officers. Black women, who could not formally join the Army, served as nurses, spies, and scouts.

Tomorrow, This Writer’s Pen     Rita Bay

Recruiting Poster for Black Soldiers During the Civil War

After the Emancipation Proclamation was announced, black recruitment of soldiers became a priority and was pursued in earnest. In May 1863 the Government established the Bureau of Colored Troops to manage black soldiers.. Frederick Douglass encouraged black men to become soldiers to ensure eventual full citizenship stating that “Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship.”

Tomorrow, Black Soldiers at War   Rita Bay