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Congressional Medal of Honor
Colored Troops in the Civil War
Company E, 4th US Colored Infantry at Fort Lincoln. These men are in their full dress uniforms having their last picture taken together. The Civil War has ended, and they are now free men
African American Military History
Approximately 180,000 African Americans comprising 163 units served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and many more African Americans served in the Union Navy. Both free Africans Americans and runaway slaves joined the fight. On July 17, 1862, Congress passed two acts allowing the enlistment of African Americans, but official enrollment occurred only after the September, 1862 issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. In general, white soldiers and officers believed that black men lacked the courage to fight and fight well. In October, 1862, African American soldiers of the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers silenced their critics by repulsing attacking Confederates at the battle of Island Mound, Missouri. By August, 1863, 14 Negro Regiments were in the field and ready for service. At the battle of Port Hudson, Louisiana , May 27, 1863, the African American soldiers bravely advanced over open ground in the face of deadly artillery fire. Although the attack failed, the black solders proved their capability to withstand the heat of battle.
On July 17, 1863, at Honey Springs , Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, the 1st Kansas Colored fought with courage again. Union troops under General James Blunt ran into a strong Confederate force under General Douglas Cooper. After a two-hour bloody engagement, Cooper's soldiers retreated. The 1st Kansas, which had held the center of the Union line, advanced to within fifty paces of the Confederate line and exchanged fire for some twenty minutes until the Confederates broke and ran. General Blunt wrote after the battle, "I never saw such fighting as was done by the Negro regiment....The question that negroes will fight is settled; besides they make better solders in every respect than any troops I have ever had under my command."
The most widely known battle fought by African Americans was the assault on Fort Wagner, South Carolina by the 54th Massachusetts on July 18, 1863. The 54th volunteered to lead the assault on the strongly-fortified Confederate positions. The soldiers of the 54th scaled the fort's parapet, and were only driven back after brutal hand-to-hand combat.
Although black soldiers proved themselves as reputable soldiers, discrimination in pay and other areas remained widespread. According to the Militia Act of 1862, soldiers of African descent were to receive $10.00 a month, plus a clothing allowance of $3.50. Many regiments struggled for equal pay, some refusing any money until June 15, 1864, when Congress granted equal pay for all black soldiers.
African American soldiers participated in every major campaign of 1864-1865 except Sherman's invasion of Georgia. The year 1864 was especially eventful for African American troops. On April 12, 1864, at Fort Pillow , Tennessee, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest led his 2,500 men against the Union-held fortification, occupied by 292 black and 285 white soldiers. After driving in the Union pickets and giving the garrison an opportunity to surrender, Forrest's men swarmed into the fort with little difficulty and drove the Federals down the river's bluff into a deadly crossfire. Casualties were high and only sixty-two of the U.S. Colored Troops survived the fight. Many accused the Confederates of perpetuating a massacre of black troops, and the controversy continues today. The battle cry for the Negro soldier east of the Mississippi River became "Remember Fort Pillow!"
The Battle of New Market Heights , Virginia (Chaffin's Farm) became one of the most heroic engagements involving African Americans. On September 29, 1864, the African American division of the Eighteenth Corps, after being pinned down by Confederate artillery fire for about 30 minutes, charged the earthworks and rushed up the slopes of the heights. During the hour-long engagement the division suffered tremendous casualties. Of the sixteen African Americans who were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Civil War, fourteen received the honor as a result of their actions at New Market Heights.
In January, 1864, General Patrick Cleburne and several other Confederate officers in the Army of the Tennessee proposed using slaves as soldiers since the Union was using black troops. Cleburne recommended offering slaves their freedom if they fought and survived. Confederate President Jefferson Davis refused to consider Cleburne's proposal and forbade further discussion of the idea. The concept, however, did not die. By the fall of 1864, the South was losing more and more ground, and some believed that only by arming the slaves could defeat be averted. On March 13, the Confederate Congress passed General Order 14, and President Davis signed the order into law. The order was issued March 23, 1865, but only a few African American companies were raised, and the war ended before they could be used in battle.
In actual numbers, African American soldiers comprised 10% of the entire Union Army. losses among African Americans were high, and from all reported casualties, approximately one-third of all African Americans enrolled in the military lost their lives during the Civil War.
Photo at right of Private Gordon was taken by a Union physician when examining former slaves for induction into military service
Enslaved and brutally beaten by his owner on Christmas Day of 1862, and with the perforated scar tissue still healing on his back, Private Gordon escaped to freedom in March 1863. He crossed over into Union lines and presented himself for induction into the Union army. A photo taken during his physical exam, and subsequently published in Harper's Weekly, revealed the keloid map of whip marks on his back to an outraged nation.
Joining more than 200,000 other former slaves and freedmen bearing arms in the four year Civil War to abolish slavery and bring freedom to all Americans of African descent, Private Gordon and his colored brothers bravely and proudly fought. By the War's end, USCT would form a field army larger than that commanded by Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant or Major General William T. Sherman.
Port Hudson Louisiana May 21-July 9, 1863
In cooperation with Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's offensive against Vicksburg , Union Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks's army moved against the Confederate stronghold at Port Hudson on the Mississippi River. On May 27, after their frontal assaults were repulsed, the Federals settled into a siege which lasted for 48 days. Banks renewed his assaults on June 14 but the defenders successfully repelled them. On July 9, 1863, after hearing of the fall of Vicksburg, the Confederate garrison of Port Hudson surrendered, opening the Mississippi River to Union navigation from its source to New Orleans.
At the battle of Port Hudson, Louisiana, May 27, 1863, the African-American soldiers bravely advanced over open ground in the face of deadly artillery fire. Although the attack failed, the black solders proved their capability to withstand the heat of battle.
Result(s): Union victory
Location: East Baton Rouge Parish and East Feliciana Parish
Campaign: Siege of Port Hudson (1863)
Date(s): May 21-July 9, 1863
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks [US]; Maj. Gen. Franklin Gardner [CS]
Forces Engaged: XIX Army Corps, Army of the Gulf [US]; Confederate forces, 3rd District, Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana, Port Hudson [CS]
Estimated Casualties: 12,208 total (US 5,000; CS 7,208)
Honey Springs
Elk Creek, Shaw's Inn Oklahoma
July 17, 1863
Union and Confederate troops had frequently skirmished in the vicinity of Honey Springs Depot. The Union commander in the area, Maj. Gen. James G. Blunt, correctly surmised that Confederate forces, mostly Native American troops under the command of Brig. Gen. Douglas H. Cooper, were about to concentrate and would then attack his force at Fort Gibson. He decided to defeat the Confederates at Honey Springs Depot before they were joined by Brig. Gen. William Cabell's brigade, advancing from Fort Smith, Arkansas. Blunt began crossing the swollen Arkansas River on July 15, 1863, and, by midnight on July 16-17, he had a force of 3,000 men, composed of whites, Native Americans, and African Americans, marching toward Honey Springs. Blunt skirmished with Rebel troops early on the morning of the 17th, and by mid afternoon, full-scale fighting ensued. The Confederates had wet powder, causing misfires, and the problem intensified when rain began. After repulsing one attack, Cooper pulled his forces back to obtain new ammunition. In the meantime, Cooper began to experience command problems, and he learned that Blunt was about to turn his left flank. The Confederate retreat began, and although Cooper fought a rearguard action, many of those troops counterattacked, failed, and fled. Any possibility of the Confederates taking Fort Gibson was gone. Following this battle, Union forces controlled Indian Territory, north of the Arkansas River.
The 1st Kansas Colored fought with courage again. Union troops under General James Blunt ran into a strong Confederate force under General Douglas Cooper. After a two-hour bloody engagement, Cooper's soldiers retreated. The 1st Kansas, which had held the center of the Union line, advanced to within fifty paces of the Confederate line and exchanged fire for some twenty minutes until the Confederates broke and ran. General Blunt wrote after the battle, "I never saw such fighting as was done by the Negro regiment....The question that negroes will fight is settled; besides they make better solders in every respect than any troops I have ever had under my command."
Result(s): Union victory
Location: Muskogee County and McIntosh County
Campaign: Operations to Control Indian Territory (1863)
Date(s): July 17, 1863
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. James G. Blunt [US]; Brig. Gen. Douglas H. Cooper [CS]
Forces Engaged: District of the Frontier [US]; 1st Brigade, Native American troops [CS]
Estimated Casualties: 716 total (US 79; CS 637)
South Carolina July 18-September 7, 1863
After the July 11 assault on Fort Wagner failed, Gillmore reinforced his beachhead on Morris Island. At dusk July 18, Gillmore launched an attack spearheaded by the 54th Massachusetts Infantry , a black regiment. The unit's colonel, Robert Gould Shaw, was killed. Members of the brigade scaled the parapet but after brutal hand-to-hand combat were driven out with heavy casualties. The Federals resorted to siege operations to reduce the fort. This was the fourth time in the war that black troops played a crucial combat role, proving to skeptics that they would fight bravely if only given the chance.
Result(s): Confederate victory
Location: City of Charleston
Campaign: Operations against Defenses of Charleston (1863)
Date(s): July 18-September 7, 1863
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. Quincy Gillmore [US]; Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard [CS]
Forces Engaged: 6,800 total (US 5,000; CS 1,800)
Estimated Casualties: 1,689 total (US 1,515; CS 174)
Fort Pillow Tennessee April 12, 1864
In April 1864, the Union garrison at Fort Pillow, a Confederate-built earthen fortification and a Union-built inner redoubt, overlooking the Mississippi River about forty river miles above Memphis, comprised 295 white Tennessee troops and 262 U.S. Colored Troops, all under the command of Maj. Lionel F. Booth. Confederate Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest attacked the fort on April 12 with a cavalry division of approximately 2,500 men. Forrest seized the older outworks, with high knolls commanding the Union position, to surround Booth's force. Rugged terrain prevented the gunboat New Era from providing effective fire support for the Federals. The garrison was unable to depress its artillery enough to cover the approaches to the fort Rebel sharpshooters, on the surrounding knolls, began firing into the fort killing Booth. Maj. William F. Bradford then took over command of the garrison. The Confederates launched a determined attack at 11:00 am, occupying more strategic locations around the fort, and Forrest demanded unconditional surrender. Bradford asked for an hour for consultation, and Forrest granted twenty minutes. Bradford refused surrender and the Confederates renewed the attack, soon overran the fort, and drove the Federals down the river's bluff into a deadly crossfire. Casualties were high and only sixty-two of the U.S. Colored Troops survived the fight. Many accused the Confederates of perpetrating a massacre of the black troops, and that controversy continues today. The Confederates evacuated Fort Pillow that evening so they gained little from the attack except a temporary disruption of Union operations. The "Fort Pillow Massacre" became a Union rallying cry and cemented resolve to see the war through to its conclusion.
Result(s): Confederate victory
Location: Lauderdale County
Campaign: Forrest's Expedition into West Tennessee and Kentucky (1864)
Date(s): April 12, 1864
Principal Commanders: Maj. Lionel F. Booth and Maj. William F. Bradford [US]; Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest [CS]
Forces Engaged: Detachments from three units (approx. 600) [US]; Brig. Gen. James R. Chalmers's 1st Division, Forrest's Cavalry Corps [CS]
Estimated Casualties: 654 total (US 574; CS 80)
Chaffin's Farm
New Market Heights Virginia September 29-30, 1864
During the night of September 28-29, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler's Army of the James crossed James River to assault the Richmond defenses north of the river. The columns attacked at dawn. After initial Union successes at New Market Heights and Fort Harrison, the Confederates rallied and contained the breakthrough. Lee reinforced his lines north of the James and, on September 30, he counterattacked unsuccessfully. The Federals entrenched, and the Confederates erected a new line of works cutting off the captured forts. Union general Burnham was killed. As Grant anticipated, Lee shifted troops to meet the threat against Richmond, weakening his lines at Petersburg.
The Battle became one of the most heroic engagements involving African Americans (colored troops). The African-American division of the Eighteenth Corps, after being pinned down by Confederate artillery fire for about 30 minutes, charged the earthworks and rushed up the slopes of the heights. During the hour-long engagement the division suffered tremendous casualties. Of the sixteen African-Americans who were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Civil War, fourteen received the honor as a result of their actions at New Market Heights.
Result(s): Union victory
Location: Henrico County
Campaign: RichmondPetersburg Campaign (June 1864-March 1865)
Date(s): September 29-30, 1864
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler [US]; Gen. Robert E. Lee and Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell [CS]
Forces Engaged: Armies
Estimated Casualties: 4,430 total
Camp of the Tennessee Colored Battery
United States Colored Troops in the Civil War
"On this and other occasions my master whipped me for no other reason than my husband enlisted."
At the onset of the Civil War, more than four million Southern blacks lived in bondage. Perhaps less than a half million blacks lived "free" in the United States. From 1861 to 1865, as the cause of States' Rights turned to one of freedom for blacks through eradication of slavery, President Abraham Lincoln bowed to military necessity and rapidly increasing sympathies for the total abolition of slavery. In 1862, he sanctioned formation of fully armed colored regiments. Slaves along with former slaves and freedmen from the North rushed to volunteer while white officers sought appointments to lead black troops. In all, 7,000 white officers joined together in military service with 209,145 black troops.
"We have done a Soldiers Duty. Why can't we have a Soldiers Pay?"
At War's end, the Union celebrated its victory with a Grand Review of Troops down Pennsylvania Avenue but chose not to include their African American regiments. Today, the African American Memorial in Washington, DC, brings long overdue recognition to the once shunned black soldiers and their white officers. Its dedication to Private Gordon symbolizes the suffering, sacrifice, and triumph of former slaves that becomes the triumph of a nation committed to the freedom of every citizen regardless of skin color.
Did you know that . . . .
 One hundred & sixty-six regiments were raised for the United States Colored Troops, as they were officially known, comprising more than 200,000 black soldiers and more than 7,000 white officers.
The number of black troops in the Union Army was larger than the entire Confederate Army in the final months of the war.
These troops were not latecomers or limited to labor on garrison duty, they fought valiantly in literally scores of battles in a dozen states, often leading the assault as at Port Hudson, Nashville, Petersburg, and New Market Heights.
The casualty rate for the USCT was 18 percent, compared to 13 percent for the Union Army as a whole.
Fourteen black soldiers were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
In addition to the USCT, more than 20,000 black men served in the Union Navy during the Civil War.
Few Americans understand the full scope of the contributions of black servicemen in the Civil War. The 1990 motion picture Glory was a powerful force in raising consciousness; yet it was possible to see the movie and come away with the impression that there was only one black regiment, the 54th Massachusetts, and that it fought in only one battle, the July 1863 assault on Battery Wagner on the South Carolina coast.
Historical Resources (General):
National Park Service Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System Database
More information on the importance of the black military role in the Civil War
A Brief History of United States Colored Troops
Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, Background on 230,000 USCT
Freedman and Southern Society Project, University of Maryland
Impact of Civil War on African American Emancipation and its Legacy , An Essay by Walter Hill, Ph.D., Howard University
Historical Resources (Topical):
US Colored Troops in the Mobile, Alabama Campaign
Battle of Honey Hill
Lincoln Cemetery, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania , burial site for about 30 United States Colored Troops
United States Colored Troops in Baltimore, Maryland
African American History in Prince George's County, MD, Two publications: Free African-American Heritage Survey (1996), and North Brentwood.
Camp Nelson Union Army Supply Depot
Sojourner Truth - CSPAN American Writers Series
Frederick Douglass - NPS
Frederick Douglass - CSPAN American Writers Series
Harriet Beecher Stowe and Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin Historic Site for Josiah Henson in Canada
Kentucky's Underground Railroad
Menare Foundation
Historical Resources (Researching Family History):
Cyndi's List of Civil War Research Sites - of special interest to those researching their family history
USCT residing in Baltimore, MD at time of 1890 census
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