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United States Colored Troops

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22nd Regiment banner - Sic semper tyrannis
African-American soldiers at an abandoned farmhouse in Dutch Gap, Virginia, 1864.
Sgt. Major Christian Fleetwood, Medal of Honor recipient.
Sgt. William Carney, Medal of Honor recipient.

The United States Colored Troops (USCT) were regiments of the United States Army during the American Civil War that were composed of African American ("colored") soldiers. First recruited in 1863, by the end of the Civil War, the men of the 175 regiments of the USCT constituted approximately one-tenth of the Union Army. The men of the USCT were the forerunners of the well-known Buffalo Soldiers, who fought in the Indian Wars later in the nineteenth century and received their nickname in the American West.

History

The U.S. Congress passed the Second Confiscation Act[1] in July 1862. It freed slaves of owners in rebellion against the United States, and a militia act empowered the President to use freed slaves in any capacity in the army. President Abraham Lincoln was concerned with public opinion in the four border states that remained in the Union, as they had numerous slaveholders, as well as with northern Democrats who supported the war but were less supportive of abolition than many northern Republicans. Lincoln opposed early efforts to recruit black soldiers, although he accepted the Army's using them as paid workers. Union Army setbacks in battles over the summer of 1862 led Lincoln to emancipating all slaves in states at war with the Union. In September 1862 Lincoln issued his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, announcing that all slaves in rebellious states would be free as of January 1. Recruitment of colored regiments began in full force following the Proclamation of January 1863.[2]

The United States War Department issued General Order Number 143 on May 22, 1863, establishing a "Bureau of Colored Troops" to facilitate the recruitment of African-American soldiers to fight for the Union Army.[3] Regiments, including infantry, cavalry, engineers, light artillery, and heavy artillery units, were recruited from all states of the Union and became known as the United States Colored Troops (USCT). Approximately 175 regiments composed of more than 178,000 free blacks and freedmen served during the last two years of the war. Their service bolstered the Union war effort at a critical time. By war's end, the men of the USCT composed nearly one tenth of all Union troops. The USCT suffered 2,751 combat casualties during the war, and 68,178 losses from all causes. Disease caused the most fatalities for all troops.[4]

USCT regiments were led by white officers, and rank advancement was limited for black soldiers. The Supervisory Committee for Recruiting Colored Regiments in Philadelphia opened a Free Military Academy for Applicants for the Command of Colored Troops at the end of 1863.[5] For a time, black soldiers received less pay than their white counterparts, but they (and their supporters) lobbied for equal pay.[6] Notable members of USCT regiments included Martin Robinson Delany, and the sons of Frederick Douglass.

Volunteer Regiments

Before the USCT was formed, several Volunteer regiments were raised from free black men, including freedmen in the South. For instance, freedmen from the Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony, established in 1863 on the island, formed the “first company of the North Carolina Colored Volunteers”.[7] Nearly all of the Volunteer regiments were converted into USCT units.

  • Detachment, Quartermaster's Department .
  • Pioneer Corps, 1st Division, 16th Army Corps.
  • Pioneer Corps, Cavalry Division, 16th Army Corps.

State Volunteers

Four regiments were considered Regular units, rather than auxiliaries, because they were formed from free northern blacks at the start of the war. They got the same pay and benefits as Regular Army or State Militia regiments. Their veteran status allowed them to get valuable federal government jobs after the war, from which African Americans had usually been excluded in earlier years. But, the men received no recognition for honors and awards until the turn of the 20th century.

  • 5th Massachusetts (Colored) Volunteer Cavalry Regiment
  • 54th Massachusetts (Colored) Volunteer Infantry Regiment
  • 55th Massachusetts (Colored) Volunteer Infantry Regiment
  • 29th Connecticut (Colored) Volunteer Infantry Regiment

Corps d'Afrique

The Corps d'Afrique was formed in New Orleans after it was taken by Union forces. It was formed around the Louisiana Native Guards. The Native Guards were Militia units formed from property-owning free people of color, the group of mixed-race people who had developed as a third class in New Orleans since the colonial years, between the native-born French colonists (called French Créole) and the African slaves. (Today the people of color descended from this group are generally referred to as Louisiana Creole.)

After the United States made the Louisiana Purchase, many Americans entered New Orleans and ignored the status of the free people of color, grouping them with the mass of blacks, then mostly slaves. The Confederates did not allow the free people of color to serve in their army. For later units of the Corps d'Afrique, the Union recruited freedmen liberated as slaves from nearby plantations. They were treated and paid as auxiliaries although they served with distinction at the Battle of Port Hudson.

Units included:

  • 4 Regiments of Louisiana Native Guards (renamed the 1st-4th Corps d'Afrique Infantry, later made into the 73rd-76th US (Colored) Infantry on April 4, 1864).
  • 1st and 2nd Brigade Marching Bands, Corps d'Afrique (later made into Nos. 1 and 2 Bands, USCT).
  • 1 Regiment of Cavalry (1st Corps d'Afrique Cavalry, later made into the 4th US (Colored) Cavalry).
  • 22 Regiments of Infantry (1st-20th, 22nd, and 26th Corps d'Afrique Infantry, later converted into the 77th-79th, 80th-83rd, 84th-88th, and 89th-93rd US (Colored) Infantry on April 4, 1864).
  • 5 Regiments of Engineers (1st-5th Corps d'Afrique Engineers, later converted into the 95th-99th US (Colored) Infantry regiments on April 4, 1864).
  • 1 Regiment of Heavy Artillery (later converted into the 10th US (Colored Heavy) Artillery on May 21, 1864).

USCT Regiments

  • 6 Regiments of Cavalry [1st-6th USC Cavalry]
  • 1 Regiment of Light Artillery [2nd USC (Light) Artillery]
  • 1 Independent USC (Heavy) Artillery Battery
  • 13 Heavy Artillery Regiments [1st and 3rd-14th USC (Heavy) Artillery]
  • 1 unassigned Company of Infantry [Company A, US Colored Infantry]
  • 1 Independent USC Company of Infantry [Southard's Company, Pennsylvania (Colored) Infantry]
  • 1 Independent USC Regiment of Infantry [Powell's Regiment, US Colored Infantry]
  • 135 Regiments of Infantry [1st-138th USC Infantry] (The 94th, 105th, and 126th USC Infantry regiments were never fully formed)
Notes:
  1. The 2nd USC (Light) Artillery Regiment (USCA) was made up of 9 separate batteries grouped into 3 nominal battalions of three batteries each. The batteries were usually detached.
  • I Battalion: A,B & C Batteries.
  • II Battalion: D, E & F Batteries.
  • III Battalion: G, H & I Batteries.
  1. The second raising of the 11th USC Infantry (USCI) was created by converting the 7th USC (Heavy) Artillery into an infantry unit.
  2. The second raising of the 79th USC Infantry (USCI) was formed from the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry.
  3. The second raising of the 83rd USC Infantry (USCI) was formed from the 2nd Kansas Colored Infantry.
  4. The second raising of the 87th USCI was formed from merging the first raisings of the 87th and 96th USCI.
  5. The second raising of the 113th USCI was formed by merging the first raisings of the 11th, 112th, and 113th USCI.

Notable actions

German-American Lt.-Col. William N. Reed, fallen in the Battle of Olustee

USCT regiments fought in all theaters of the war, but mainly served as garrison troops in rear areas. The most famous USCT action took place at the Battle of the Crater during the Siege of Petersburg. Regiments of USCT suffered heavy casualties attempting to break through Confederate lines. Other notable engagements include Fort Wagner and the Battle of Nashville. USCT soldiers suffered extra violence at the hands of Confederate soldiers. They were victims of battlefield massacres and atrocities, most notably at Fort Pillow in Tennessee. They were at risk for murder by Confederate soldiers, rather than being held as prisoners of war.[8]

The prisoner exchange protocol broke down over the Confederacy's position on black prisoners of war. Confederate law stated that blacks captured in uniform be tried as slave insurrectionists in civil courts—a capital offense with automatic sentence of death.[9] USCT soldiers were often murdered without being taken to court. The law became a stumbling block for prisoner exchange.

USCT soldiers were among the first Union forces to enter Richmond, Virginia, after its fall in April 1865. The 41st USCT regiment was present at the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox. Following the war, USCT regiments served among the occupation troops in former Confederate states.

Awards

Soldiers who fought in the Army of the James were eligible for the Butler Medal, commissioned by that army's commander, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler. In 1861 at Fort Monroe in Virginia, he was the first to declare refugee slaves as contraband and refused to return them to slaveholders. This became a policy throughout the Union Army.

African-American soldiers won the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award:

  • Sergeant William Harvey Carney of the 54th Massachusetts (Colored) Volunteer Infantry was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Fort Wagner in July 1863. During the advance, Carney was wounded but still went on. When the color-bearer was shot, Carney grabbed the flagstaff and planted it in the parapet, while the rest of his regiment stormed the fortification. When his regiment was forced to retreat, he was wounded two more times while he carried the colors back to Union lines. He did not relinquish it until he handed it to another soldier of the 54th.
  • Sergeant Major Christian Fleetwood was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions with the 4th USCT in the Battle of Chaffin's Farm in Virginia in September 1864, during the campaign to take Petersburg. Fleetwood took up the regimental colors after 11 other USCT soldiers had been shot down while carrying them forward.

Postbellum

The USCT was disbanded in the fall of 1865. In 1867 the Regular Army was set at 10 regiments of cavalry and 45 regiments of infantry. The Army was authorized to raise two regiments of black cavalry (the 9th and 10th (Colored) Cavalry) and four regiments of black infantry (the 38th, 39th, 40th, and 41st (Colored) Infantry), who were mostly drawn from USCT veterans. In 1869 the Regular Army was kept at 10 regiments of cavalry but cut to 25 regiments of Infantry, reducing the black complement to two regiments (the 24th and 25th (Colored) Infantry).

Legacy

Company E, 4th US Colored Troops at Fort Lincoln, November 17th, 1865. Library of Congress link at [10]

After the war many USCT veterans struggled for recognition and had difficulty obtaining the pensions they were due. Since the USCT was considered an auxiliary force, its members were not considered veterans by the Department of War's standards. The Federal government did not address the inequality until 1890, and many of the veterans did not receive service and disability pensions until the early 1900s. The history of the USCT's wartime contribution was kept alive within the black community by historians such as W. E. B. Du Bois. The units and their contributions have been the subject of more books and movies since the 1970s.

They also had difficulty receiving official recognition for achievement and valor. Often recommendations for decorations were filed away and ignored. Another problem was that the government would mail the award certificate and medal to the recipient, who had to pay the postage due (whether he was white or black). Most former USCT recipients had to return them for lack of funds.

The motion picture Glory, starring Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman and Matthew Broderick, portrayed the African-American soldiers of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment. It showed their training and participation in several battles, including the second assault on Fort Wagner on July 18, 1863.[11] Although the 54th was not a USCT regiment, but a Volunteer regiment originally raised from free blacks in Boston, the film portrays the experiences and hardships that African-American troops went through during the Civil War.

Legacy and honors

A national celebration in commemoration of the service of the United States Colored Troops was held in September 1996. The African American Civil War Memorial (1997), featuring Spirit of Freedom by sculptor Ed Hamilton, was erected at the corner of Vermont Avenue and U Street, NW. It is administered by the National Park Service. In 1999 the African American Civil War Museum opened nearby. In July 2011, it celebrated a grand opening of its new museum facility at 1925 Vermont Avenue, just across from the Memorial. It plans four years of related events during the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement, to commemorate African-American contributions under the theme: "From the Civil War to Civil Rights".

Numbers of United States Colored Troops by state, North and South

North[citation needed] Number South[citation needed] Number
Connecticut 1,764     Alabama 4,969  
Colorado Territory 95     Arkansas 5,526  
Delaware 954     Florida 1,044  
District of Columbia 3,269     Georgia 3,486  
Illinois 1,811     Louisiana 24,502  
Indiana 1,597     Mississippi 17,869  
Iowa 440     North Carolina 5,035  
Kansas 2,080     South Carolina 5,462  
Kentucky 23,703     Tennessee 20,133  
Maine 104     Texas 47  
Maryland 8,718     Virginia 5,723  
Massachusetts 3,966  
Michigan 1,387   Total from the South 93,796 
Minnesota 104  
Missouri 8,344   At large 733  
New Hampshire 125   Not accounted for 5,083  
New Jersey 1,185  
New York 4,125  
Ohio 5,092  
Pennsylvania 8,612  
Rhode Island 1,837  
Vermont 120  
West Virginia 196  
Wisconsin 155  
Total from the North 79,283  
Total 178,895  

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Rodriguez, Junius P. Slavery in the United States: a Social, Political, and Historical Encyclopedia, ABC-CLIO, 2007, vol. 2, pg 241
  2. ^ Cornish, The Sable Arm, pp. 29-111.
  3. ^ Cornish, The Sable Arm, p. 130.
  4. ^ Cornish, The Sable Arm, p. 288; McPherson, The Negro's Civil War, p. 237.
  5. ^ Cornish, The Sable Arm, p. 218.
  6. ^ McPherson, The Negro's Civil War, Chapter XIV, "The Struggle for Equal Pay," pp. 193-203.
  7. ^ "The Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony" Carolina Country Magazine, date?, accessed 10 November 2010
  8. ^ Cornish, The Sable Arm, pp. 173-180.
  9. ^ Williams, George W., History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1880: Negros as Slaves, as Soldiers, and as Citizens, vol. II, New York: G.P. Putnam Son's, 1883, pp. 351-352.
  10. ^ [1]
  11. ^ See the film review by the historian James M. McPherson, “The ‘Glory’ Story,” The New Republic, January 8 & 15, 1990, pp. 22-27.

References

  • Dudley Taylor Cornish, The Sable Arm: Negro Troops in the Union Army, 1861-1865 (New York: W.W. Norton, 1965).
  • Jesse J. Johnson, Black Armed Forces Officers 1736-1971 (Hampton Publ., 1971)
  • James M. McPherson, The Negro's Civil War: How American Negroes Felt and Acted During the War for the Union (New York: Pantheon Books, 1965).
  • George W. Williams, A History of the Negro Troops in the War of the Rebellion (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1887).
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