Figure 15.17 African American and White soldiers of the Union army pose together in this photograph, although in reality, Black soldiers were often kept separate and given only menial jobs. For their part, African American soldiers welcomed the opportunity to prove themselves. Some 85 percent were formerly enslaved people who were fighting for the liberation of all of the enslaved and the end of slavery. When given the opportunity to serve, many Black regiments did so heroically. One such regiment, the Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, distinguished itself at Fort Wagner in South Carolina by fighting valiantly against an entrenched Confederate position. They willingly gave their lives for the cause. The Confederacy, not surprisingly, showed no mercy to African American troops. In April 1864, Southern forces attempted to