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United States Colored Troops | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Legislative Foundations And Formation —
United States Colored Troops.
~7 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
In July 1862, the U.S. Congress passed the Confiscation Act, legalizing the practice of Union officers freeing slaves and putting them to work as army laborers. This law marked a turning point in how the federal government viewed enslaved people during the Civil War. A few months later, Congress also passed the Militia Act, which empowered President Abraham Lincoln to use free blacks and former slaves from rebel states in any capacity within the army.
President Lincoln initially opposed recruiting African American soldiers due to concerns about public opinion in border states that remained loyal to the Union. These states had numerous slaveholders, and northern Democrats supported the war but were less supportive of abolition than many Republicans. In September 1862, Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation, announcing that all slaves in rebellious states would be free as of January 1.
Recruitment and training of colored regiments began in full force following the Proclamation in January 1863. The United States War Department issued General Order Number 143 on the 22nd of May 1863, establishing the Bureau of Colored Troops to facilitate the recruitment of African-American soldiers to fight for the Union Army. Regiments including infantry, cavalry, engineers, light artillery, and heavy artillery units were recruited from all states of the Union.
Recruitment Strategies And Demographics
Approximately 175 regiments comprising more than 178,000 free blacks and freedmen served during the last two years of the war. Their service bolstered the Union war effort at a critical time. Northern states often sent agents to enroll formerly enslaved people from the South. Many soldiers from Delaware, D.C., Kentucky, Missouri, and West Virginia were formerly enslaved as well.
Most of the troops credited to West Virginia were not actually from that state. Numbers show significant contributions from Southern states: Louisiana provided 24,502 soldiers, Mississippi contributed 17,869, and Tennessee supplied 20,133. In contrast, Connecticut sent 1,764 men, Massachusetts 3,966, and New York 4,125. The total number of colored troops from the North was 79,283, while those from the South numbered 93,796.
Before the USCT was formed, several volunteer regiments were raised from free black men, including freedmen in the South. In 1863, William Henry Singleton helped recruit 1,000 former slaves in New Bern, North Carolina, for the First North Carolina Colored Volunteers. He became a sergeant in the 35th USCT. Freedmen from the Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony also formed part of these units.
Combat History And Notable Engagements
The first engagement by African-American soldiers against Confederate forces during the Civil War occurred at the Battle of Island Mound in Bates County, Missouri on the 28th of October 29, 1862. African Americans, mostly escaped slaves, had been recruited into the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers. They accompanied white troops to Missouri to break up Confederate guerrilla activities based out of Hog Island near Butler, Missouri. Although outnumbered, the African-American soldiers fought valiantly, and the Union forces won the engagement.
USCT regiments fought in all theaters of the war, but mainly served as garrison troops in rear areas. The most famous USCT action took place at the Battle of the Crater during the Siege of Petersburg. Regiments of USCT suffered heavy casualties attempting to break through Confederate lines. Other notable engagements include Fort Wagner, one of their first major tests, and the Battle of Nashville.
Colored Troop soldiers were among the first Union forces to enter Richmond, Virginia, after its fall in April 1865. The 41st USCT regiment was among those present at the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox. Following the war, USCT regiments served among the occupation troops in former Confederate states.
Systemic Inequality And The Struggle For Pay
For a time, Black soldiers received less pay than their white counterparts, but they and their supporters lobbied and eventually gained equal pay. Initially, the USCT were relegated to menial jobs such as that of laborers, teamsters, cooks, and other support duties. However, even these duties were essential to the war effort.
The process for white officers aiming to lead USCT units was considered more protracted and perhaps rigorous than for ordinary Union officers. This was because it was assumed that leading Black soldiers would require a better officer than those leading white troops. At the end of their studies, those men who wished to lead Black troops had to pass an examination administered by Brig. Gen. Silas Casey's staff in Washington.
USCT soldiers suffered extra violence at the hands of Confederate soldiers, who singled them out for mistreatment. They were often the victims of battlefield massacres and atrocities by Confederates, most notably at Fort Pillow in Tennessee, at the Battle of the Crater in Virginia, and at the Battle of Olustee in Florida. They were often murdered when captured by Confederate soldiers, as the Confederacy announced that former slaves fighting for the Union
Prisoner Of War Treatment And Atrocities
were traitors and would be immediately executed.
The prisoner exchange protocol based on the Dix, Hill Cartel broke down over the Confederacy's position on black prisoners-of-war. The Congress of the Confederate States of America had passed a law on the 1st of May 1863, stating that white officers commanding black soldiers and blacks captured in uniform would be tried as rebellious slave insurrectionists in civil courts , a capital offense with automatic sentence of death. In practice, USCT soldiers were often murdered by Confederate troops without being taken to court.
This law became a stumbling block for prisoner exchange, as the U.S. government in the Lieber Code objected to such discriminatory mistreatment of prisoners of war on basis of ethnicity. The Republican Party's platform during the 1864 presidential election also condemned the Confederacy's mistreatment of black U.S. soldiers. In response to such mistreatment, General Ulysses S. Grant urged the Confederates to treat captured black U.S. soldiers humanely and professionally.
The USCT was disbanded in the fall of 1865. In 1867, the Regular Army was set at ten regiments of cavalry and 45 regiments of infantry. The Army was authorized to raise two regiments of black cavalry (the 9th and 10th Cavalry) and four regiments of black infantry (the 38th, 39th, 40th, and 41st Infantry), who were mostly drawn from USCT veterans.
From 1870 to 1898 the strength of the US Army
Postwar Service And Buffalo Soldiers Legacy
totaled 25,000 service members with black soldiers maintaining their 10 percent representation. USCT soldiers fought in the Indian Wars in the American West, where they became known as the Buffalo Soldiers, reportedly nicknamed by Native Americans who compared their hair to the curly fur of bison.
Six regiments were considered regular units, rather than auxiliaries. Their veteran status allowed them to get federal government jobs after the war, from which African Americans had usually been excluded in earlier years. However, the men received no formal recognition for combat honors and awards until the turn of the 20th century.
Eighteen African-American USCT soldiers earned the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award, for service in the war. Sergeant William Harvey Carney of the 54th Massachusetts (Colored) Volunteer Infantry was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Fort Wagner in July 1863. During the advance, Carney was wounded but still went on. When the color-bearer was shot, Carney grabbed the flagstaff and planted it in the parapet,
Medal Of Honor Recognition And Delays
while the rest of his regiment stormed the fortification.
When his regiment was forced to retreat, he was wounded two more times while he carried the colors back to Union lines. He did not relinquish it until he handed it to another soldier of the 54th. Carney received his medal 37 years after the battle. Fourteen African-American soldiers, including Sergeant Major Christian Fleetwood and Sergeant Alfred B. Hilton, were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions at the Battle of Chaffin's Farm in September 1864.
Corporal Andrew Jackson Smith of the 55th Massachusetts (Colored) Volunteer Infantry was recommended for the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Honey Hill in November 1864. Smith prevented the regimental colors from falling into enemy hands after the color sergeant was killed. Due to a lack of official records, he was not awarded the medal until 2001.
When was the Bureau of Colored Troops established?
The United States War Department issued General Order Number 143 on the 22nd of May 1863, establishing the Bureau of Colored Troops to facilitate the recruitment of African-American soldiers to fight for the Union Army.
How many United States Colored Troops served during the Civil War?
Approximately 175 regiments comprising more than 178,000 free blacks and freedmen served during the last two years of the war. The total number of colored troops from the North was 79,283, while those from the South numbered 93,796.
What was the first engagement by African American soldiers against Confederate forces?
The first engagement by African-American soldiers against Confederate forces during the Civil War occurred at the Battle of Island Mound in Bates County, Missouri on the 28th of October 1862. African Americans mostly escaped slaves had been recruited into the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers to break up Confederate guerrilla activities based out of Hog Island near Butler, Missouri.
Why did Confederate soldiers mistreat captured United States Colored Troops?
The Congress of the Confederate States of America passed a law on the 1st of May 1863 stating that white officers commanding black soldiers and blacks captured in uniform would be tried as rebellious slave insurrectionists in civil courts with an automatic sentence of death. In practice USCT soldiers were often murdered by Confederate troops without being taken to court because the Confederacy announced that former slaves fighting for the Union were traitors.
When was the Medal of Honor awarded to Sergeant William Harvey Carney?
Sergeant William Harvey Carney of the 54th Massachusetts (Colored) Volunteer Infantry received his medal 37 years after the battle where he saved the flag at Fort Wagner in July 1863. He earned the nation's highest award for service in the war despite being wounded multiple times while carrying the colors back to Union lines.