So you reject all census data, but anything in the US or state archives is beyond question? Was there some sort of national conspiracy to not count hundreds of thousands or millions of free blacks? Are you aware of the difference between a census getting one family’s records wrong and claiming that the cumulative record is therefore equally wrong?
According to this article from the UK, http://www.americancivilwar.org.uk/news_those-confederate-states_42.htm, there were 133,000 total free blacks in the CSA. That would equate to a potential military force of perhaps 15,000 or so volunteers, if every potential soldier wanted to fight for the slaveocracy.
I do not doubt that blacks served informally in the CSA armies, although I’m not clear how any, with possible exceptions of the Marines, were able to take the oath since the CSA Congress specifically prohibited blacks serving in the army before 1865.
When Lincoln began accepting black recruits, Davis gave birth to an entire herd of cows. Don’t you think his expressed outrage would have been considered a little odd if blacks were legally serving in the CSA already?
Since Congress prohibited black enlistment prior to passing a bill allowing it on March 13, 1865; how did all these blacks get into the army? Did the army just ignore the laws?
In early 1864 Patrick Cleburne, a rising star general, proposed recruiting black soldiers. It caused a major uproar and destroyed his chances of advancement. Why, if blacks were already serving? http://www.thewildgeese.com/pages/clebprop.html
As late as the end of 1864 a great many prominent southerners apparently were under the impression there were no black soldiers. When the bill to allow their recruitment was presented to Congress, here are a couple of reactions:
Howell Cobb of Georgia: “Use all the Negroes you can get, for the purposes for which you need them. The day you make soldiers of them is the beginning of the end of the revolution. If slaves will make good soldiers our whole theory of slavery is wrong.” He was apparently ignoring the considerable evidence from the Union armies that slaves could indeed make good soldiers, which meant that his whole theory of slavery was indeed wrong.
Virginia Senator R.M.T. Hunter, president pro-tempore of the Confederate Senate: “What did we go to war for, if not to protect our property?” Meaning the two-legged variety. Interestingly, he doesn’t mention tariffs.
Finally, do you really believe that slaves could be volunteers?
PRIVATELY recruited/State-raised & "local forces" (as i previously stated) did NOT ever come under the CSA's central government laws. furthermore, FEW southerners "out in the sticks" CARED what "Richmond" thought/said/felt/believed. they simply IGNORED what they didn't like.
and ONE more time, NO slaves could NOT be "volunteers". only FREE men could be soldiers/sailors/marines. (btw, this "slaves could not be volunteers" is ONE of the KNOWING, INTENTIONAL, lies told by those to try to DECEIVE the ignorant/intellectually lazy/naive.)
free dixie,sw
otoh, you could just "blowviate" as most of the DUMB-bunny DYs on FR do.
free dixie,sw