Реферат: From Oppressed Slaves To Champion Soldiers Essay

drove the Federals down the river’s bluff into a deadly crossfire. Casualties were high

and only sixty-two of the US Color Troops survived the fight. Many accused the

Confederates of perpetuating a massacre of black troops, and the controversy

continues to this day. “The battle cry for the Negro soldier east of the Mississippi River

became ‘Remember Fort Pillow!’” (Park Net 5).

The Confederate army did not consider the usage of slaves throughout the war.

However, near the end when the future looked dismal, the South decided to use blacks

for the Confederate cause. “Leaders of the Confederacy considered schemes for the

enlistment of blacks in the armies and for their eventual freedom” (Long 26). However,

those who did serve in the Confederate army were not given their freedom by the

Confederate government, but rather by the North after the war had ended.

The United States Civil War began as an effort to save the Union, and ended in a fight

to abolish slavery. This battle for emancipation, some would argue, was won by the

slaves themselves. While this remains a debate, it is clear that the slaves did

contribute significantly to their own freedom. By running from masters to become

contrabands for the Union, laboring behind the scenes for the Northern armies, and

risking their lives on the battlefront, the slaves centralized the issue of freedom and

played a key role in the North’s victory. (New York Public Library 1).

In actual numbers, African-American soldiers comprised 10% of the entire Union Army.

Losses among African-Americans were high, and from all reported casualties,

approximately one-third of all African-Americans enrolled in the military lost their lives

during the Civil war. (Park Net 5). African-American soldiers, despite doubt and

prejudice by society, proved themselves to be formidable warriors on the battlefield.

They were just as deadly, if not deadlier, that their white counterparts. They won

many of the Civil War battles, and in doing so, won their independence. “Once let the

black man get upon his person the brass letters, US, let him get an eagle on his button,

and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pockets, and there is no power on earth

which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship in the United States” (Park

Net 1).