Black Confederates ????????
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still_brooke1 — 13 years ago(July 04, 2012 02:54 PM)
Thanks Karneda for bringing this up!! I had no ideawell really I'd never thought of searching for this topic until I saw your question/post on here. I would assume the black men that fought for the confederate army were either forced or they were treated well (as well as slaves were to be treated) and felt fearful of freedom since they mostly were illiterate, and had no job training or skills. That's just my observation and opinion, not trying to sound racist or anything like that.
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silvercometred1 — 11 years ago(February 03, 2015 09:03 AM)
Southern Blacks fought for the Confederacy, just as did whites, and for many of the same reasons, it was their home, their families, and their sense of honor. The Yankee Barbarians invaded, butchered, burned, robbed and raped their way through our homeland. They did not discriminate; as to which race was their victim, regardless of their claims of fighting the war to free the slaves. Abraham Lincolns true purpose in fighting the war was his unyielding belief that those people had the absolute right to rule, despite the principles laid down in the Declaration of Independence.
The Yankees predominantly transported the slaves from Africa aboard U.S. Flag Ships, held them in bondage, and sold them to Southern Planters. In any case slavery would have ended, even had the Confederacy won their War for Independence. Abraham Lincoln could have bought the slaves, and freed them, at little or no cost in blood and devastation, and at a fraction the cost of the war.
The Black Confederate Soldier has been for the most part ignored by Yankee Historians, modern day political correctness has resulted in a willful ignorance as to the sense of duty, honor, faith and patriotism of these brave soldiers. It is not possible that I could do them justice, in posting this one small article that will be for others, but for now, consider these unsung heroes of the Confederacy and the sacrifice they made for the Cause.
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Private R.M. Doswell was hastening back to his unit after carrying an order when something attracted his attention. The young Virginian had just spotted one of the new Confederate companies of black soldiers, "a novel sight to me." the black Confederates were guarding a wagon train near Amelia Court House on the retreat from Richmond.
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Doswell reined in about 100 yards to the rear of the wagon train and watched in fascination as a Union cavalry regiment formed up to charge. The black Confederates fired their weapons like veterans and drove back the overconfident Federals. The horse soldiers re-formed for another charge. This time they broke up the wagon train and scattered the defenders. The black soldiers were captured and disarmed. Doswell suddenly realized his own danger and rode away without being noticed. The date was April 4, 1865. Five days later, Lee would surrender his Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House.
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The Courageous black soldiers who served in the various Northern armies have been much publicized and praised. Their brothers who fought for the South have been almost totally ignored. In actual fact, black Americans marched to war with the Southern armies from the very beginning in early 1861. In contrast, the Federal government refused to allow black men to serve in its ranks until well into the conflict. It was 1863 before the North began using black troops in any large number, and only then after considerable opposition.
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Why did black men become soldiers of the south? It is often forgotten that while slavery was the major underlying cause of the Civil War, its abolition was not the original objective of the US government. In his inaugural address of March 4, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln stated that he had "no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so." The attempts by overzealous generals such as John C. Fremont and David Hunter to free the slaves in the areas they occupied were promptly countermanded by Lincoln. The man in the White House had enough problems without pushing slave-owning Union loyalist in the critical border stares into the arms of secessionists.
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Many Northern soldiers felt the same way, declaring that they would stop fighting if the war turned into a crusade for abolition. Before crossing the Ohio River in 1861 into what would become West Virginia, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan had issued a proclamation to reassure the inhabitants, "Not only will we abstain from such interference," he wrote, "but we will on the contrary with an iron hand crush any insurrection on their part." Even General Ulysses S. Grant had said that if he "thought this was to abolish slavery, I would resign my commission, and offer my sword to the other side."
Faced with such an attitude from the hostile North, the black Southerners had little reason not to be loyal to their home section. The slaves had nothing to gain from a Northern victory, and free black men might actually stand to lose such rights and property as they already had.
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The 1860 census counted 240,747 "free Negroes" in the slave states, 15,000 more than lived in the free states to the north. Almost half a century earlier, free black Southerners had fought under Andrew Jackson to help defeat British invaders at the Battle of New Orleans. Not surprisingly, many also volunteered to defend their homes against the new threat from the North. No accurate record has been kept of black -
There_Is_No_Sayid — 11 years ago(February 28, 2015 09:40 PM)
No, there weren't any black Confederates. The Confederate army remained closed to black men. The Confederacy did make use of a lot of slave labor to build fortifications and to drive wagon trains and such. But these were slaves, not soldiers. The closest thing to "black Confederates" were personal slaves of some officers. These slaves might sometimes accompany their master to the front lines and sometimes might even have fought beside them in some sort of capacity. But they were slaves, not soldiers, and also took advantage of opportunities they might have had to escape.
Unless Alpert's covered in bacon grease, I don't think Hugo can track anything. -
bryanac625 — 11 years ago(March 03, 2015 10:24 AM)
One thing I've learned about history is that it, like most of our lives, has no absolutes.
I've said this before- I would bet good money that at some point, in a four-year long war involving millions of people spread out over thousands of miles, some Black person fired a gun at a Union soldier. And that probably happened more than once. But having said that, I think sporadic incidents are just that- incidents and not much more. Incidents don't mean recruitment; enlistment; a combat record documented by after action reports; and service discharge.
The Confederate States of America was founded on "the great truth" that "the Negro was not equal to the White man" and that slavery was the "natural" condition for Black people. So said CSA VP Alexander Stephens in his Cornerstone speech in March, 1861. This belief most certainly extended into soldiering. Honestly, I think that if actual Confederates could see people now who try to claim thousands- and some even say a million- Blacks fought for the Confederacy, they would be highly offended that their "great truth" was interpreted in such a way.
I think the best instance for Black Confederates are those men who managed to pass themselves off as White before, during and after the war. To be sure, some of them may have been so-called Black Confederates without even knowing it.
There was a time when I was more fascinated about the idea of Black Confederates. But the truth of this story- whatever that may be- has spun so far out of control and has become so distorted by people trying to remember the Confederacy for something other than what it was. At this point to me, the number of Blacks who "fought" for the Confederacy is pretty much irrelevant since their "service" didn't lead to final victory, anyway. -
yastepanov — 10 years ago(June 11, 2015 01:12 PM)
The only actual "black Confederates" were old men and hospital workers mustered into service in the closing days of the war when the South was frantic.
At the time of the film, there were about as many black men in the Confederate Army as there were openly Jewish members of the SS in WWII. -
amcalabrese-1 — 10 years ago(June 22, 2015 11:58 PM)
There were some regiments in New Orleans called the "Native Guard" that were made of mostly mixed race men. They saw no action. When the Union occupied New Orleans in Spring of 1862 the units dissolved. Many would join Federal units later.
But you are right, mostly the stories of "Black Confederates" are mostly stories. Though at the end of the war, the south authorized black units, none were really formed and none saw combat. -
AfroGeek — 10 years ago(July 01, 2015 01:01 PM)
It's a very common myth spread in Southern White circles that there were more Black soldiers "fighting" for the South than the North.
Call them
ISIL
. Isis is an overloaded term that has many other legitimate uses. -
GreenGoblinsOckVenom86 — 10 years ago(August 12, 2015 09:14 PM)
I didn't feel like reading through the whole topic but it is true in the last year of the war the South used black troops because of how little men they had because of the casualties of the war. Unlike the North, the south didn't have as big of a population. So anybody they lost couldn't be replaced.
Green Goblin is great! -
harveythepooka — 10 years ago(August 25, 2015 10:10 PM)
What I know, and it isn't that much, is that towards the end of the civil war the south was completely out of men. Lee asked them to allowed slaves to fight and at the end of the war they would be granted their freedom as a reward for fighting for the south. The obviously racist confederates didn't think a black man had it in him to actually be a soldier, but they had no one else, other than old men and children to fight so they took what they could get because they had to.
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kamaupotter — 10 years ago(February 04, 2016 08:57 AM)
Some black Americans certainly fought for the Confederacy. I'm sorry to be vague, but I remember seeing a first hand report from a Union officer who observed an integrated force of black and white Confederate soldiers (if you google long enough, it's there somewhere). That Union officer made the important distinction between soldiers and support staff (digging, fetching, carrying, orderlies etc.) Black support staff were commonplace. Black Confederate soldiers, less so. I suspect that there were a lot more black Confederate soldiers than is currently acknowledged because it doesn't necessary correspond with the narrative of the Civil War written by the victors.
In March 1865 the Confederacy officially authorised black soldiers to serve in integrated units with the Confederate military. It was an act of desperation because they were on the brink of defeat, however, I think it's very telling that at that stage in the war, the south was quite possibly willing to sacrifice slavery for their independence. Who knows though?
Yes, it is true that man black Confederates rode with General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his highly feared and effective Rebel cavalry. Bedford Forrest is also on record expressing a high opinion of these black troops. Bedford Forrest was one of the founders of the KKK, but to be fair to him, it wasn't really the detestable organisation that exists today, and he left the organisation when it become clear that their goals were outdated and repulsive.
Bedford Forrest is probably one of the most misunderstood and possibly slandered people from the Civil War. I'd refer people to one of his last speeches before he died which was given to a black community group. He makes his opinions on black people clear.