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Civil War II: Soldiers
| - | Union sergeant, letter of Lewis Douglass, 1863 |
| - | Wounded Union private, letters of Spotswood Rice to his children and former owner, 1864 |
| - | Escape to the Union army, in Thomas Cole narrative, ca. 1937 (PDF) |
| - | Confederate aide, in Jacob Stroyer narrative, 1898 (PDF) |
| - | A mother's letter to Lincoln to protect black soldiers, 1863 |
| - | Photographs of black soldiers and sailors, 1861-1865 (PDF) |
In Theme IV: IDENTITY, we considered how military service in the Revolution and Civil War affected African American identity, i.e., black men's sense of themselves within white society, fighting wars for freedom (#6: Soldiers). In this section we shift our view to the collective experience of African American soldiers and their families in the Civil War—soldiers in battle, parents separated from children, and slaves forced to serve in Confederate units.
- Lewis Douglass, a son of Frederick Douglass, served as a sergeant in the U.S. 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry, a black regiment with a white commander that led a failed but praised assault on a South Carolina fort in 1863. Writing to his wife, Douglass describes the battle that killed the commander and 250 other men. From later evaluations of the battle, Douglass's statement that "our men fought well" is an understatement.
- Spotswood Rice, wounded while fighting in the U.S. army, wrote to his children while hospitalized in St. Louis. He lays out his plans to liberate them from his former mistress, predicting that she will strongly resist. But "god never intended for man to steal his own flesh and blood," and his firm resolve is apparent in this letter and the letter he wrote the same day to the mistress holding his children.
- Thomas Cole ran away from the Alabama plantation on which he was enslaved and joined the Union army, serving in the battles of Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, and Chattanooga/Orchard Knob, never getting used to gathering the wounded and dead of both armies. "After de war am over," he remembers, "we's turned loose, nowhere to go and nobody to help us."
- Jacob Stroyer, whose narrative we have read elsewhere in this Toolbox, added a section to the third edition of his autobiography (1898) describing his years as an aide with the Confederate army. In 1863, as a thirteen-year-old, he was shipped with thousands of other slaves to Charleston to assist the Confederate army.
- Hannah Johnston, the mother of another black soldier in the 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry (see Lewis Douglass above), wrote to Abraham Lincoln in 1863 requesting, actually insisting, that he protect African American soldiers. Not from the danger of battle, but from the risk of being kidnapped and forcibly returned to their masters. She states her position bluntly: "I have but poor edication but I never went to schol, but I know just as well as any what is right between man and man." Do not miss the final note at the end, in another handwriting and signature.
- "Two brothers in arms," and other photographs of African American service in the Union military. As before, we recommend that you view the photographs before reading the selections. (xx pages.)
Discussion questions
- What overall impressions do you get from these reading and photographs of African American military service in the Civil War?
- Compare the service of African Americans in the Union and Confederate armies. Beyond the obvious (i.e., willing vs. forced service), how did the experiences affect the men and influence their lives after the war?
- Why do these selections appear in this section, EMANCIPATION, rather than in IDENTITY (Theme IV: #6, Soldiers)? In each reading, what is the context of the writer's letter or memoir? Who is the receiver or audience?
- How did the African American soldiers' and civilians' war experiences differ? Beyond the obvious, how would their experiences affect their on postwar lives?
- What did a newly discharged African American soldier face in the spring and summer of 1865? What decisions did he have to make?
- How does experience in war, as a soldier, parent, or civilian, affect a person's definition and judgment of his or her self? In the aftermath of war, what makes a person worthy of respect? of security?
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Framing Questions
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How did enslaved African Americans construct communities over time? What were their principal characteristics? |
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What obstacles did slaves confront in constructing communities? |
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How did white Americans respond to the collective behavior of African Americans? |
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How was autonomy exercised through community by antebellum African Americans? |
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Printing
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Supplemental Sites
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| *PDF file - You will need software on your computer that allows you to read and print Portable Document Format (PDF) files, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have this software, you may download it FREE from Adobe's Web site. |
Image: Photograph (tintype) captioned "Two brothers in arms," between 1860 and 1870. LOC note: "Two unidentified African American soldiers, full-length portrait, wearing uniforms, seated with arms around each other's shoulders, facing front." Courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Gladstone Collection.
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