African American Soldiers: Black Soldiers During The Civil War

Black Soldiers

Black soldiers made their first major impact in the United States military during the Civil War. Upon their entrance into the armed forces, African Americans were discriminated against by the white soldiers. A regiment in the Union army called the Buffalo soldiers was viewed as inferior. None of the white soldiers wanted to fight with this group, so the Buffalo soldiers were sent to the far west where they could fight and not interfere with the whites. The Buffalo soldiers operated in the west from 1867-1896. During this span, fourteen medals of honor were awarded to the Buffalo soldiers, the highest military award. These soldiers became known for their bravery and courage in battle. This angered the whites, who did not want African Americans in the military. However, the courage demonstrated by the Buffalo soldiers allowed for other African American regiments to be created (“Buffalo Soldier”).

It was typical for white Americans to be prejudiced towards African Americans.

Racism shines through when talking about whites’ views on Black soldiers.
Black units in the Union army were segregated from the white units. They were stationed as far away from white units as humanly possible. Black soldiers rarely saw battle, and were stationed as guards or patrolmen. African Americans were paid less than whites, received old and worn out gear, and lived in camps where disease was extremely common. All Black regimes were led by a white officer; very few Blacks reached the position of officer. The racist ways of the whites in the North made life for Black soldiers miserable. There was no help offered to black soldiers who were captured. The Union simply let them be tortured or forced into slavery by the Confederates (“Weber”).
Another example of racism in the military came at Fort Pillow. Confederate soldiers stormed Fort Pillow, a Union camp, and massacred two hundred ninety-five African American soldiers. Only fourteen Confederates died (“Glaze”).
Eventually, segregation became less popular in the military and African American units became more common.

The first example of this came during WWII, when Black and white American regiments fought side by side for the first time in American history. Deploying black soldiers during the Civil War allowed for African Americans to gain respect, even if it took sixty years (“Lynch”).

The Union army did not allow runaway slaves from the South to serve in their army. However, in 1863, Congress passed the Second Confiscation and Militia Act, freeing all slaves in the South who had masters serving for the Confederacy. Now, these free slaves fled to the North and were allowed to join the Union. When Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation, thousands of Blacks enlisted into the Union army. Unfortunately, the Union did not use the Black regiments as much as they should have, and Blacks soon began to stop enlisting. Again, acts of racism by whites affected Blacks

(“West”).
Even though Black soldiers were discriminated against, their fighting in the military was a big step for gaining rights for African Americans. From fighting in wars, African Americans gained respect from the general population. By joining the military, African Americans took a step towards gaining their rights. It was unfair of the whites to be racist towards African Americans, and treat them poorly because they were black. People are all the same, regardless of skin color. Everyone deserves to be treated the same.