Racial Status Quo During Civil War

More on Blacks in the War \n

Pre-Civil War Northern Blacks

•     There were 46,000 blacks of military age in the Northern US at the start of the war; 33,000 joined the Union Armies.

Views in the North Prior to the Civil War

•     Some Northerners worried that mass emancipations would flood the North with ex-slaves seeking work

•     Job competition and black strike-breakers did not help matters

•     Race riots broke out in Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo and New York in 1863

Lincoln’s Views, 1862

•     In March 1862 the President requested Congress provide financial compensation to any state adopting gradual emancipation

•     Slave owners would be given $400 per slave

•     Not really successful; designed to finish slavery over 30 years.

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In the Navy…

•     Blacks had been welcomed into the Navy from the start of the war

•     Most served as firemen, coal heavers, cooks, and stewards

•     The USS Minnesota had one black gun crew as of 1861

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Not Yet…

•     Lincoln’s first Secretary of War had proposed arming slaves in Dec. 1861

•     Black regiments in KS, occupied LA and the SC sea islands were not accepted into federal service during the summer of 1862

Early Plans

•     Lincoln had wanted to announce the Proclamation’s contents for some time, reading it in draft form to his Cabinet on Sept. 22, 1862

Other Key Points

•     Officials suggested that the announcement wait for a victory

•     Following Antietam, Lincoln did so

•     Proclamation would take effect January 1, 1863

Details of the Proclamation

•     Slaves were considered free in any rebel areas, but not in areas under Federal control (such as the border states)

•     If followed, it would deprive owners of their slaves’ work, weaken the South, allow rear guard action, and the recompense for their economic loss.

Opening the Door

•     It was not until the Emancipation Proclamation was issued that the Lincoln administration formally began enlisting black troops

•     The process began with Lincoln’s signature on New Year’s Day, 1863.

Formal Beginnings- the 54th & 55th Mass. Infantry

•     Governor Andrew received permission to form a black regiment, and got enough recruits among the northern states for two

•     These were the basis of the 54th and 55th Mass. Infantry

•     The 54th was the unit featured in Glory.

•     Commanded by Col. Robert Gould Shaw

No Shortage of Bravery

•     14 out of 16 black Medal of Honor winners fought in one battle, the little-known Sept. 1864 Battle of New Market Heights (VA), charging against a fortified artillery unit

Bureau of Colored Troops (1863)

•    The BCT was founded in 1863 in the War Department, and given the responsibility for recruiting, organization and oversight of black soldiers.

Southern-Born Union Troops

•     The eight upper Southern states contributed 85,000 blacks to the Union army during the CW.

•     Farmer puts the number at closer to 100,000

Demographics

•     By the summer of 1863 30 black regiments had been formed

•     By October 1864, 140 regiments.

Discrimination Against Soldiers

•     The Militia Act of 1862 gave African-American soldiers $10 a month salary and $3.50 for a clothing allowance.

•     White soldiers received $13.00 a month.

•     The discrepancy was not fixed until June 15, 1864.

A Convert

•     Lincoln’s move to enlist black soldiers angered the Democrats, who were against emancipation, and most of the army, which remained segregated

Southern Reaction to the EP

•     General Beauregard issued orders calling for the “execution of abolition prisoners after 1st of January… Let the execution be with the garrote.”

•     CSA Pres. Jefferson Davis: “the most execrable measure in the history of guilty man.”

•     A good number of black troops were killed “trying to escape” which was a cover story for killing any black soldier who surrendered.

Unequal Prisoners of War

•     CSA Secretary of War James Seddon directed “we ought never to be inconvenienced with such prisoners…summary execution must therefore be inflicted on those taken…”

•     Massacres took place at Fort Pillow, Poison Spring, the Crater, and elsewhere.

•     This ended the prisoner exchanges between the two sides.

Other Notes

•     Individuals who were drafted could pay $300 to hire a replacement

•     Individuals with 10 or more slaves were unlikely to serve

•     EP, if issued when created, would have made North look weak