I. the military participation & experiences of African American soldiers during the U.S. Civil War

II. NYC Draft Riots of 1863

African American Soldiers ~ general info.• Black soldiers eager to enlist in U. Army (anxious to join

fight against slavery; believed military service would allow them to prove right to equality)

• Celebrated abolitionist Frederick Douglass → strong advocate of blacks fighting (to prove right to citizenship & suffrage); Douglass hoped AA service in CW would guarantee black men’s suffrage. – Douglass also advocate of women’s suffrage but believed black men’s

rights should come first to ensure survival to freed blacks in South

• B/c of connection btwn. voting & military service, many in N. didn’t want AAs to fight. At beginning of CW, only 6 N. states allowed AAs to vote. CSA also used AAs to fight, but most objected on grounds that AAs could earn freedom, suffrage. – One of S’s justifications for slavery was belief in inferiority of

blacks to whites; some claimed that blacks were like children who needed someone to care for them, but if blacks proved capable soldiers, this theory would not have held up any longer.

AA Wages for Service & Unequal Pay• A Union militia act allowed enrollment of AAs early in 1862, and

the Emancipation Proclamation permitted AAs to enlist in the military. However, it was thought that AAs would be used as military laborers, rather than fighters. For this reason, black soldiers were originally paid a laborer’s wage ($10 a month) rather than the wage paid to white soldiers ($13 a month). In 1864, after much opposition, Congress passed a bill allowing retroactive equal pay for Civil War black soldiers, but this act allowed for equalization only from January 1864.

• White Union soldiers often treated black soldiers with derision although a few respected them. Despite these obstacles, black soldiers → determined to serve country & fight for rights.

• One group of black soldiers (1st SC Volunteers) at first received no pay at all; when offered half-pay, they refused, saying they’d volunteer service to their country, rather than be treated as less than full soldiers (they eventually received full pay due to their persistence, but they saw relatively little action).

54th Massachusetts RegimentHowever, the bravery of another black regiment won some respect for CW black soldiers. The 54th Massachusetts regiment consisted of freed blacks recruited in the USA; …led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the son of ardent Boston abolitionists. Shaw had to argue with his commander in order for his men to have a chance to fight. On July 18, 1863, Shaw led the 54th MA in an assault against Fort Wagner, which guarded Charleston, SC. Under heavy fire, a small group of these troops broke through the Fort’s earthworks, and for an hour held the parapet until the CSA drove them back. Shaw and almost half of his troops were killed in the assault, but the tragic incident showed that black troops would fight well and bravely if given a chance.

Note:

• You may use the film Glory as a source, but do NOT mention the film in your essay. Some examiners will not consider this to be academic .

Black Soldiers ~ general info.

• In all, over 200,000 Civil War black soldiers served in the Union army & navy; 10% of the Union army was black.

• However, they were usually barred from actual fighting and instead served in a variety of support positions.

• When they did fight, they not only faced being killed or maimed in battle, but also, the prospect of being executed if they were captured by Confederate forces.

• The Confederates declared that all black men fighting for the Union were rebel slaves, regardless of whether they were actually former slaves or had been born free - and frequently executed them.

Battle of Fort Pillow (TN, 1864)• a CSA win• After USA surrender, AA Union soldiers

were treated worse than white Union soldiers. – Only 20% of AA soldiers taken prisoner,

compared with 60% of white soldiers. Rest (80% of AAs & 40% of whites) → massacred

• With sorrow, Lincoln responded that he would have to execute CSA POWs if the CSA executed any other Union POWs. For the most part Lincoln’s threat paid off, but… – captured black Union soldiers were still

treated more harshly by the CSA than captured white Union soldiers.

Black Soldiers ~ CSADespite their distain for black Union soldiers, early in 1865 the Confederate congress decided it had to use slaves as soldiers, and Jefferson Davis planned to buy 40,000 slaves to work with the army. Confederate General Patrick Cleburne had suggested this once unthinkable idea early in 1864. Davis and Cleburne both believed that they would free these men and their families after the war, and this caused other southerners to object to the proposal of Confederate black soldiers. General Robert E. Lee had earlier told the Confederate congress that he believed these extra fighting men were absolutely needed (Lee, of course, believed from the war’s onset, that the South would be better off without slavery AND that black soldiers were competent fighters). The bill to allow black soldiers to be acquired passed in the Confederate House, but failed in its Senate. Virginia’s state legislature authorized its own bill and organized two companies of slaves in Richmond, but the war ended before they could serve….

Black Soldiers (USA) ~ Achievements

• By the war’s end 40,000 Civil War black soldiers had died, the majority from disease. Although initially reluctant to commission black officers, the Union government eventually commissioned eighty black military officers. Eighteen Civil War black soldiers were given the Medal of Honor for their heroic service.

• Abraham Lincoln credited these soldiers “of color” with helping the Union turn the tide of the war….”

Black Soldiers, USA:• approx. 200,000 (12% U.

troops) • 54th MA Regiment

Infrantry = 1st black troop raised in N., 1863 - pioneers

• discrimination:– poor treatment– initially not used for

combat– lower wages…

• until Aug. ‘64

Black Soldiers, CSA:• Why would black soldiers want to fight for the CSA?

– to prove competence, for respect; better than the life and demasculinization of – slavery; to position themselves for post-war life (they hoped to be rewarded), etc.

• Who fought? – CSA Congress approved their fighting late in war– approx. 65,000 … 13,000 of whom experienced

combat; most provided logistical support… •e.g. harness makers, wagon makers, blacksmiths,

nurses, mechanics, boatmen, cooks, grave diggers, manual laborers, musicians.

• approx. 1 in 5 slaves ran away (500,000), so not all former slaves chose to fight

NYC Draft Riots, 1863: • …remain the most

violent riot in U.S. history• riots are always

spontaneous, not premeditated

• “What apparent cause of any riots

may be, the real one is want of happiness.”

- Thomas Paine

Who (rioted)? …how & why?• Participants: Angry Irish immigrants, formed mobs and

targeted African Americans in NYC, whom they/Irish blamed for their loss of jobs. (AAs willing to work for lower wages; Irish lowest sector of white society – treated terribly)

• Data:– rioting lasted 3-5 days; approx. 119 killed, at least 19 of

whom: AAs who were beaten & hanged; approx. 3,000 people left homeless; millions of dollars in property damage

– Irish = poorest sector of white society

• Why? …discontent over economic inequity of FCA (Federal Conscription Act) was the final straw after decades of discrimination (frustration) from middle & upper-class whites; also: economic competition with black workers (for jobs)

• How? They used what they could find: axes, iron rails from RR tracks, rifles, etc....first targeted govn’t & wealthy; then, racially-motivated toward AAs (fear of economic setback, economic competition, blaming for war, etc.)

Causes of Irish Draft Riots:• 1863, U. needed more soldiers…• Cong. passed 1st Federal Conscription Act in nation’s

history– able-bodied males, 20-45 enrolled; then if name

drawn, served 3-yr. enlistment• controversial provision: …any man whose name was

drawn who did not want to serve could pay 300 USD for a sub. - $5,249.81 today (2010)

– This favored the wealthy and angered the poor!•Civil War: “A rich man’s war; a poor man’s

fight.”

“Free Blacks” During Civil War:

• Lived and worked for wages in most free states – but not regarded as full citizens, of course.

• Their social & legal → vulnerable & unsure…status varied by region & state– e.g. New England: voting, yes;

some legal recourse; Ohio’s state constitution prohibited blacks from voting, holding political office, or testifying against whites in court…etc.

The Emancipation Proclamation:

• Proc. made by Pres. Lincoln in 1863:– all slaves under the Confederacy were from then on

to be forever free

• The EP did not actually free any slaves b/c it applied only to rebellious areas that the USA did not then control.– Nor did the EP address the Border States b/c Lincoln

did not want to risk alienating them and losing them to the Confederacy.

• However, it was a powerful gesture – even if only a symbolic one - b/c it was the strongest stand against slavery a U.S. pres. had ever made until that time.

Remember the Border

States!

• Lincoln did not want to risk losing them to the CSA, so he excluded them from the Emancipation Proclamation.

• They were: Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, & Delaware– These four states w/

slave owners/slavery remained part of the U.S. b/c they never seceded, but they didn’t officially support one side or the other during the War.