Black Confederates ????????
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Judger — 14 years ago(August 25, 2011 11:37 AM)
Many people are suspicious and even dismissive of such claims.
The roles of blacks in service of the Confederacy have been controversial because assertions of willing service in the war have been made by white racists with dubious motives.
However, I think it is clear that black slaves did play some role in the Confederate defense. They definitively played some role as servants and in support roles.
Less clear is whether a significant number of black slaves actually served in the Confederate military and participated in combat. It has been argued that black slaves viewed the "Northern Aggression" into the South as an invasion of the homeland just like the white population.
People who dismiss the notion of Black Confederates are wrong. Late in the War the South authorized the creation of battalions manned by slaves. There is plenty of photographic evidence of uniformed and armed blacks in Confederate uniform. You can refer to this very good web site on the subject:
http://blackconfederatesoldiers.com/index.html
There are two larger questions that this raises:- Was the role of blacks in the Confederate armies significant?
I don't see any evidence that it was, other than in support positions such as cooks. - Does the presence of blacks in the Confederate armies add legitimacy to the Southern cause?
I don't see how.
Slavery was not the only issue that brought the nation to Civil War, but it was the great moral issue underlying the conflict. The south stood to perpetuate a truly heinous institution.
A close inspection of an historical period always identifies contradictions to stereotypes. Not all Slave holders were evil and not all master-slave relationships were the same, but they were all profoundly wrong.
I was born in the house my father built
- Was the role of blacks in the Confederate armies significant?
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dannieboy20906 — 9 years ago(May 29, 2016 07:04 PM)
Keep in mind that once you say that A = B, you have also said that B = A.
In other words, without disagreeing with you and the essential evil of owning another person, some slave owners must have been more evil than others, and therefor some must have been less evil than others.
Good people sometimes perform evil acts and even the most evil people sometimes perform good acts. It is difficult for me to think of anything that Stalin or Hitler did that is good. Hitler seems to have loved his dog, but I think he poisoned her to test the cyanide pill he was about to give Eva.
Nevertheless, I cling to Yin and Yang. Even slave holders must have been less than pure evil.
The best diplomat I know is a fully charged phaser bank. -
activista — 10 years ago(February 05, 2016 11:59 PM)
@guyinwesthouston
And let's not forget there were Black slave owners and traders as well. Let the liberals play a race card on that one.
What the hell do you mean by "playing the race card"? Fck that stupid "race card" s***,there is no such fckn thing. Race is not a fckn game anyone playsit's always been a very REAL problem and always has been for people of color. And were a very small number of black slave owners, and the "slaves" they owned were actually their own family members whom they bought out of slavery so that they could stay together. White folks always like throwing that fact about black slave owners up as if it justifies your white ancestors having enslaved us in the first place, and as a way to deflect from those same ancestors having been slavemasters. Newsflashno it fckn dosen't justify a damn thing that was done to my ancestors, so fck off with that bull****.
Also, none of these Black Confederates were ever allowed to see battle,and they certainly were never near anywhere enough to claim that they supported the Civil War-the majority of slaves wanted to get the fck of the South and fight for the Union, not the Confederacy that wanted to keep them enslaved. So really, the whole "Black Confederates" thing is just some straws these Sons of the Confederacy have grasped to claim that there were black slaves on their sidesyeah, right,that's really stretching it. -
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ballston54 — 14 years ago(April 27, 2011 03:16 PM)
And just how many of these guys were there compared to the tens of thousands who fought for the Union? The African-American troops fighting for the U.S. have monuments, such as that at Petersburg, outside Richmond, for the black Pennsylvania unit that launched the initial assault on the Confederate fortifications, and the famous one to the 54th Massachussetts in Washington, DC. I've seen them both and maybe others have too on this thread. Where are the monuments to any black confederates?
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NoahBody — 14 years ago(October 05, 2011 11:13 AM)
And just how many of these guys were there compared to the tens of thousands who fought for the Union?
Where are the monuments to any black confederates?
This is a fallacy called Moving the goal post. Your side lost the original debate, so you attempt to change (move the goal) the debate. -
Hancock_the_Superb — 14 years ago(May 31, 2011 06:05 PM)
There were attempts to organize black regiments at various times, but until the final months of the war the Confederate government vetoed this. A Louisiana militia regiment was organized entirely of blacks early in the war, but once Richmond heard about it they ordered it disbanded immediately. Supposedly there was a company of Virginia blacks who served with Lee in the final days of the war but they never saw combat.
There were cases of individual blacks fighting with the Confederates, but these were few and far between. Unless you count slaves conscripted to build fortifications, dig trenches, etc. which isn't exactly voluntary. Certainly compared to the 180,000+ blacks who fought with the Union army, they were a negligible factor in the war.
Two reasons why slaves might have initially supported the Confederacy. One, simple patriotism: they probably shared their master's view of an outside threat to their country and rallied around the Confederate flag. Keep in mind that slaves had served in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 too. Two, because the Union government did not make the war overtly anti-slavery until September 1862, so the alternative initially wasn't necessarily better. On the other hand, after Union troops began to occupy the South, and certainly after the Proclamation, most slaves lost any loyalty to their masters and home states, whether or not they openly rebelled or took up arms.
"That's what the elves call Justice of the Unicorn!" -
NoahBody — 14 years ago(October 05, 2011 11:21 AM)
There were attempts to organize black regiments at various times, but until the final months of the war the Confederate government vetoed this. A Louisiana militia regiment was organized entirely of blacks early in the war, but once Richmond heard about it they ordered it disbanded immediately. Supposedly there was a company of Virginia blacks who served with Lee in the final days of the war but they never saw combat.
ehem
Noted Examples:- The "Richmond Howitzers" were partially manned by black militiamen. They saw action at 1st Manassas (or 1st Battle of Bull Run) where they operated battery no. 2. In addition two black regiments, one free and one slave, participated in the battle on behalf of the South. Many colored people were killed in the action, recorded John Parker, a former slave.
- At least one Black Confederate was a
non-commissioned officer. James Washington, Co. D 35th Texas Cavalry, Confederate States Army, became its 3rd Sergeant. Higher ranking black commissioned officers served in militia units
, but this was on the State militia level (Louisiana) and not in the regular C.S. Army. - Free
black musicians, cooks,
soldiers
and teamsters earned the same pay as white confederate privates
. This was not the case in the Union army where blacks did not receive equal pay. At the Confederate Buffalo Forge in Rockbridge County, Virginia,
skilled black workers "earned on average three times the wages of white Confederate soldiers and more than most Confederate army officers
($350- $600 a year). - Dr. Lewis Steiner, Chief Inspector of the United States Sanitary Commission while observing Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson's occupation of Frederick, Maryland, in 1862: "Over 3,000 Negroes must be included in this number [Confederate troops]. These were clad in all kinds of uniforms, not only in cast-off or captured United States uniforms, but in coats with Southern buttons, State buttons, etc. These were shabby, but not shabbier or seedier than those worn by white men in the rebel ranks.
Most of the Negroes had arms, rifles, muskets, sabers, bowie-knives, dirks, etc..and were manifestly an integral portion of the Southern Confederate Army."
Frederick Douglas reported, There are at the present moment many Colored men in the Confederate Army doing duty not only as cooks, servants and laborers, but real soldiers, having musket on their shoulders, and bullets in their pockets, ready to shoot down any loyal troops and do all that soldiers may do
to destroy the Federal government and build up that of therebels.
6. Black and white militiamen returned heavy fire on Union troops at the Battle of Griswoldsville (near Macon, GA). Approximately 600 boys and elderly men were killed in this skirmish.
7. In 1864, President Jefferson Davis approved a plan that proposed the emancipation of slaves, in return for the official recognition of the Confederacy by Britain and France. France showed interest but Britain refused.
8.
The Jackson Battalion included two companies of black soldiers. They saw combat at Petersburg under Col. Shipp.
"My men acted with utmost promptness and goodwillAllow me to state sir that they behaved in an extraordinary acceptable manner."
9. Recently the National Park Service, with a recent discovery, recognized that blacks were asked to help defend the city of Petersburg, Virginia and were offered their freedom if they did so. Regardless of their official classification, black Americans performed support functions that in today's army many would be classified as official military service. The successes of white Confederate troops in battle, could only have been achieved with the support these loyal black Southerners.
10. Confederate General John B. Gordon (Army of Northern Virginia) reported that all of his troops were in favor of Colored troops and that its adoption would have greatly encouraged the army.
Gen. Lee was anxious to receive regiments of black soldiers.
The Richmond Sentinel reported on 24 Mar 1864, Nonewill deny that our servants are more worthy of respect than the motley hordes which come against us. Bad faith [to black Confederates] must be avoided as an indelible dishonor.
11. In March 1865, Judah P. Benjamin, Confederate Secretary Of State, promised freedom for blacks who served from the State of Virginia. Authority for this was finally received from the State of Virginia and on April 1st 1865, $100 bounties were offered to black soldiers. Benjamin exclaimed, Let us say to every Negro who wants to go into the ranks, go and fight, and you are freeFight for your masters and you shall have your freedom. Confederate Officers were ordered to treat them humanely and protect them from "injustice and oppression".
12. A quota was set for 300,000 black soldiers for the Confederate States Colored Troops.
83% of Richmond's male slave population volunteered for duty
. A special ball was held in Richmond to raise money for uniforms for these men. Before Richmond fell, black Confederates in gray uni