Black Confederates ????????
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yastepanov — 10 years ago(June 11, 2015 01:12 PM)
The only actual "black Confederates" were old men and hospital workers mustered into service in the closing days of the war when the South was frantic.
At the time of the film, there were about as many black men in the Confederate Army as there were openly Jewish members of the SS in WWII. -
amcalabrese-1 — 10 years ago(June 22, 2015 11:58 PM)
There were some regiments in New Orleans called the "Native Guard" that were made of mostly mixed race men. They saw no action. When the Union occupied New Orleans in Spring of 1862 the units dissolved. Many would join Federal units later.
But you are right, mostly the stories of "Black Confederates" are mostly stories. Though at the end of the war, the south authorized black units, none were really formed and none saw combat. -
AfroGeek — 10 years ago(July 01, 2015 01:01 PM)
It's a very common myth spread in Southern White circles that there were more Black soldiers "fighting" for the South than the North.
Call them
ISIL
. Isis is an overloaded term that has many other legitimate uses. -
GreenGoblinsOckVenom86 — 10 years ago(August 12, 2015 09:14 PM)
I didn't feel like reading through the whole topic but it is true in the last year of the war the South used black troops because of how little men they had because of the casualties of the war. Unlike the North, the south didn't have as big of a population. So anybody they lost couldn't be replaced.
Green Goblin is great! -
harveythepooka — 10 years ago(August 25, 2015 10:10 PM)
What I know, and it isn't that much, is that towards the end of the civil war the south was completely out of men. Lee asked them to allowed slaves to fight and at the end of the war they would be granted their freedom as a reward for fighting for the south. The obviously racist confederates didn't think a black man had it in him to actually be a soldier, but they had no one else, other than old men and children to fight so they took what they could get because they had to.
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kamaupotter — 10 years ago(February 04, 2016 08:57 AM)
Some black Americans certainly fought for the Confederacy. I'm sorry to be vague, but I remember seeing a first hand report from a Union officer who observed an integrated force of black and white Confederate soldiers (if you google long enough, it's there somewhere). That Union officer made the important distinction between soldiers and support staff (digging, fetching, carrying, orderlies etc.) Black support staff were commonplace. Black Confederate soldiers, less so. I suspect that there were a lot more black Confederate soldiers than is currently acknowledged because it doesn't necessary correspond with the narrative of the Civil War written by the victors.
In March 1865 the Confederacy officially authorised black soldiers to serve in integrated units with the Confederate military. It was an act of desperation because they were on the brink of defeat, however, I think it's very telling that at that stage in the war, the south was quite possibly willing to sacrifice slavery for their independence. Who knows though?
Yes, it is true that man black Confederates rode with General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his highly feared and effective Rebel cavalry. Bedford Forrest is also on record expressing a high opinion of these black troops. Bedford Forrest was one of the founders of the KKK, but to be fair to him, it wasn't really the detestable organisation that exists today, and he left the organisation when it become clear that their goals were outdated and repulsive.
Bedford Forrest is probably one of the most misunderstood and possibly slandered people from the Civil War. I'd refer people to one of his last speeches before he died which was given to a black community group. He makes his opinions on black people clear.