African Americans in the American Civil War

The history of **African Americans in The American Civil War** includes the over four million slaves and approximately 500,000 free African Americans who were living in the United States at the beginning of the war. Altogether they made up 14% of the population of the country. Many served as soldiers in the Union Army.

## Background 
Slavery began in the English colony of Jamestown in 1619. It started with the purchase of 20 Africans—not as reported by John Rolfe from a Dutch ship—but rather from an English warship named the *White Lyon.* The Colonists in the Virginia Colony bought the contracts of the Africans as indentured servants. Not long after this it became a custom to hold slaves for life in the colonies. Millions of slaves were brought to America between the 17th and 19th centuries. Slavery was one of the main issues that led to the outbreak of the Civil War. This policy remained in place until the second year of the Civil War. The Navy, however, never had such a . In the 1840s they limited the number of blacks serving to 5 percent of the enlisted force. They served in the blockading squadrons on the South and Gulf Coasts and in the brown-water navy in the tributaries in the South. He was afraid that if he armed African Americans, especially escaped or former slaves, the border states would secede. They could not treat them the same as captured white soldiers or they would be  them as being equal. It would also  they accepted Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which they did not. But the photos do not come with explanations. Of the men in the photos, four are known by name and were slaves who went with their masters to the front lines. Another said: "If slaves will make good soldiers, our whole theory of slavery is wrong." General Robert E. Lee knew he needed soldiers. He stated: "We must decide whether slavery shall be extinguished by our enemies and the slaves be used against us, or use them ourselves." Lee suggested the slaves be freed in exchange for their service as soldiers. But that condition was not in the bill that was approved by the Confederate Congress on March 13, 1865. Only a few thousand blacks enlisted before the war ended. By that time over 200,000 African Americans had served with the Union army.

## Non-combatant labor duty
Escaped slaves who fled to Union Army camps were known as contrabands. Some Union officers experimented—sometimes successfully, sometimes not—with using contrabands for manual labor in the camps. Over time, these efforts led to the creation of Black regiments. Officers involved in these early efforts included Generals David Hunter, James H. Lane, and Benjamin F. Butler. In early 1861, General Butler became the first known Union commander to use Black contrabands for non-combat labor. He refused to return three escaped slaves who reached Fort Monroe, Virginia, seeking protection from their masters, who wanted to re-enslave them.

In September 1862, free African American men in Cincinnati were forced by the city police into labor to build defensive fortifications. They were soon released, and officials instead asked for volunteers. Around 700 Black men volunteered, forming the Black Brigade of Cincinnati. After reports of harsh conditions and abuse by the police guards, the Union Army under General Lew Wallace intervened, ensuring the men were treated fairly and paid the same as white privates. Contrabands were later settled in several communities, including the Grand Contraband Camp in Virginia and the settlements established in the Port Royal Experiment.

African Americans also worked behind the lines in roles that kept the army running, including in hospitals. Historian Jane E. Schultz notes that about 10% of the Union’s female medical relief workers were Black, including free Black women of various backgrounds and formerly enslaved women who sought refuge in Union camps and hospitals.

## Notes 
## References 
## Other websites 
* The Civil War in Four Minutes: Black Soldiers; YouTube
* Voices of the Civil War Episode 24:"African Americans in the Confederate Army"; YouTube