I remember going to a reenactment of the Battle of Spotsylvania and a discussion with a black lawyer who lived in Virginia and was a member of the Confederate cavalry reenacting regiment. He said he couldn’t loose. If the South won, he would be granted his freedom and if the North won, he would receive his freedom.
The 5th Massachusetts Cavalry (Unmounted), was a black unit with white officers. One of Frederick Douglass’s sons was a member of the unit. One also served in the 54th Mass. The 5th Mass. Cavalry was the first regiment to enter Richmond after it fell. They also served at Point Lookout, and were eventually sent to Texas after the war.