Source Revision: Black Contribution during War Flashcards
Historians
- Grant, decision to raise African American regiments was viewed as a necessary war measure.
- Farmer, if Confederacy recruited black soldiers quicker, they could have won the war.
Slaves moved
Some plantation owners moved ‘their property’ to safety from advancing Union troops, thus limiting their efforts.
Confederate Introduction
March 1865 ― Confederate Congress passed laws allowing 300,000 slaves to serve in the Confederate Army. Too late in the war to make impact.
Union Victory
After emancipation black soldiers fought bravely and were crucial in Union victory.
Numbers
These new recruits added the ‘overwhelming numbers’ of Union troops (180,000) that Lee ‘yielded’ to in 1865.
Information
Runaway slaves crossing into Union lines and providing Northern commanders with valuable strategic information.
Emancipation
Contribution of African American soldiers helped ease Northern opinion towards emancipation by seeing their contribution and sacrifices for the Union.
Non-combatant work
Non-combatant war work largely carried out by African American soldiers before the Emancipation Proclamation was critical to the Union war effort.
Southern Economy
Runaway slaves destabilised the Southern economy and ability to wage war. Estimated 500,000 slaves fled to join the Union army with a devastating effect on the Southern economy.
Momentum
African American recruits provided fresh momentum to a flagging war effort in 1863.
Confederate Contribution
African American people made up more than a third of Confederate population. Crucial in supporting the Confederate war effort in factories, mines and agriculture.
All of them
- Slaves moved
- Confederate Introduction
- Union Victory
- Numbers
- Information
- Emancipation
- Non-Combatant Work
- Southern Economy
- Momentum
- Confederate Contribution
