// June 18th, 2012 // No Comments » // Free essays
Black American citizens served in infantry and artillery; they fulfilled all non-combat support functions that uphold the Union Army. There were many black chaplains, nurses, carpenters, guards, laborers, surgeons, spies, scouts, steamboat pilots, teamsters. They contributed a lot to the war cause too. The Unite Army had around 80 African American commissioned officers. African American women could not officially join the Union Army. Nevertheless, those women found the way to serve the Army: they worked as nurses, scouts and spies. Harriet Tubman was one of the most famous girl – scout who served for the 2-nd South Carolina Volunteers.
Black American were great and brave soldiers. They served the Union Army well and took an outstanding part in many battles in site of great difficulties they were facing. I want to give a quote of Frederic Douglass’ words that he said about black people’s service to the American Nation: “Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters U.S., 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 of citizenship in the United States.”
Black American fighters made about 10 % of the Union Army. Probably one-third of all black American soldiers that enlisted are died in battles. The whole number of those black people who died during the Civil War is around 40,000 and almost 30,000 of them were died because of different diseases and infections.
It is pity but the prejudice against African Americans did not let black people to serve in combat as extensively as they wish to; but anyway they made their serve with distinction in a great number of battles. Black American infantrymen were fighting gallantly at Port Hudson (L A), Petersburg (V A), Milliken’s Bend (L A) and Nashville (T N). In July year 1863, Fort Wagner (S C) was assaulted. During those battle one-third officers of the 54-th Requirement of Massachusetts Volunteers’; also the half of their troops was lost. Those sad events were memorably dramatized in the well-known film “Glory”. By the time when The Civil War was finished future United States of America had 16 African American soldiers who were awarded the Medal of Honor for the outstanding bravery and valor they showed during the War fighting.
Let us come back to the beginning of the American Civil War and see how colored troops started having place in the Union Army. Historians know that the very first methodical attempts to organize colored troops since the War of rebellion started were so called “Hunter Regiment”. Sergeant C. T. Trowbridge was the officer of the New York Volunteer Engineers (Colonel Serrell) who originally detailed the recruiting for that purpose. The detail is dated by May 7, year 1862 (special order 84 Department of the South)
We can see that African American citizens became brilliant soldiers who fought for their new motherland. In spite of abusive, unjust and often even cruel narrow mindedness and discrimination they served the Union Army well. Nowadays, passing over numerous equally shaking events that mark the outstanding career of the regiment, we can review for a minute the attack on the Black River Bridge that for the heroic bravery stays incomparable in the war history. According to Major-General Camby, we see that: “The Major-General commanding the District of West Tennessee and Vicksburg, styles this affair as one of the most daring and heroic of the war”. (more…)
