Confederate Memorial Day will honor soldiers who sided against the Union

staugustine.com ^ | 18 April 2003 | PETER GUINTA

[Grand Old Partisan]

This is all revisionist crapola, except for #5, which is the story of those Louisiana blacks who formed two regiments for service in the CSA army and were refused.

[jocon307]

"No one answer seems to be completely accurate the further we get from the actual events. Everyone has their own agenda."

You said it. I did a quick Google Search on "black confederate soldiers" and came up with a list that even in the headlines was along the lines of
"yes there were"

"no there weren't"

"yes there were"

"no there weren't"

"yes there were"

"no there weren't".

I obviously won't be able to resolve this issue via the internet. This stuff took place only a little over 100 years ago, I really wouldn't think it would be so difficult to resolve, one way or the other.

Oh well, onto Lincoln: Great President or Tyrant? But this at least can be construed as a matter of opinion, not fact.

[Mudboy Slim]

"Most black Confederates worked as cooks, drivers or musicians, but at least 18,000 served as combat troops, Masters said. "Black people don't want to believe that, but it's true," he said. "Nobody wanted to be a slave, but this was their home and the North was an aggressor nation."

Truth be told, that final part pretty much described a huge majority of the white Confederate soldiers, too, as the troops were mostly made up of folks who NEVER owned slaves...MUD

[Beernoser]

Anyone interested on the topic, I would send to their inter-library loan department and pick up the book "Black Confederates and Afro-Yankees."

It's an exhaustive academic work (dull read) story on the black experience during the Civil War in Virginia.

Virginia held the most slaves at the start of the war, and also the second largest number of free blacks after Maryland.

The conclusion of the book was that it was a complex story looking at many extant records such as diaries and battle reports.

The author's conclusions were that most slaves in Virginia took neither side. Many took the northern side and ran away, spied for the north or joined the northern army. Fewer did just the opposite and spied for the Confederate armies, or returned to their homes when they were offered a chance to leave.

The free blacks (50,000 if I remmeber right?) were even more interesting. Many volunteered for the Confederate armies, mostly being redirected to support services. Thousands served as cooks and teamsters. Many bought Confederate bonds supporting the CSA government that way. Many others joined the army as fighters seemingly without permission to do so. It seems that Stonewall Jackson's corps had a don't ask don't tell policy on the matter. There are just too many reports from battlefields to discount, from the Yankee letters home talking about a sniper they shot out of a tree in the Peninsula campaign who turned out to be black, to citizen letters in Fredrick Maryland talking about armed black Confederate troops marching mixed with the other troops.

Anyway, the number 70,000 to me would have to include the teamsters (which there were thousands of for an army the size of Lee's), but I think there's little doubt that there were black Confederate soldiers of some number.

[Mudboy Slim]

Very good post, yh...

"...there are accounts of body servants of officers (slaves who "grew up" side by side with their masters) picking up a rifle a time or two. This certainly happened on many (or at least several) occasions. The problem here is that this story was later interpreted in post-war literature as "the loyal Darky". It can be found in the book "in Ole Virginia" (forgot the author). It was overemphasized to contrast "loyal" blacks during segregation to "troublemakers", a segregationalist "morality play" in a way."

The Re-Fighting of the Civil War fer the last 140 years has resulted in self-serving spin from both sides, but that doesn't change the fact that Slavery was/IS Evil and is an embarrassment for the South...nor does it change the FACT that the Federal Guv'ment overstepped it's constitutional limitations in not allowing the South to secede!!

IMHO...MUD

[Illbay]

Doubt that Confederate ladies would have honored anyone with black skin.

Yet another legend, with no basis in fact.

[putupon]

First you say this about the graves the Confederate ladies were honoring:

"Those killed at Petersburg during the siege" were slaves forced to dig trenches, not soldiers.

Then you say this:

Doubt that Confederate ladies would have honored anyone with black skin.

can't you make up your mind?

[putupon]

as the troops were mostly made up of folks who NEVER owned slaves

Owning 20 or more slaves could get you an exemption from service in the Confederate army. Ynkees who were conscripted could pay someone to take their place. Then, as now, the complaint "Rich mans war, poor man's fight" went through the ranks of both armies.

[FBD]

Great post, yankhater. Thanks for pinging me to it.

[stand watie]

we of the SCV & SUVCW have ALWAYS honored each others war-dead.here in the DC area, the first joint commeration was in 1898.

free dixie,sw

[stand watie]

sorry, but you are WRONG!

black CSA veterans fought alongside white, hispanic, indian & asian servicemembers on the same basis as other soldiers.

no less an authority than GEN N.B.Forrest said that his "sable warriors" fought as well as any soldier for the TRUE CAUSE.

Professor H. R. Blackerby,the noted late/former chair of history at Tuskeegee University, estimates that there were at least 100,000 black CSA servicemembers in the army,navy & CSMC, who served in EVERY sort of military job.

it is a REVISIONIST lie to suggest otherwise, especially given the THOUSANDS of service records of blacks in the US archives & the number of pension records in state archives.

damnbyankee apologists like ravison,x,ditto & ole' WP TRY hard to discount their VALIANT service for the CAUSE, as it makes their LIES more plausable to the un-informed.

did you know that the south's 1st naval HERO-MARTYR was a black naval lieutenant? his name was LT Moses I. Dillon, CSN who btw was given the first CSA "state funeral". (i'd bet you didn't know that there were some black CSA commissioned officers.there are service records of at least FIVE.)

free dixie,sw

[billbears]

This is all revisionist crapola

LOL!! That's what I love about you McPhernuts. Evidence presented, documentable evidence, and it's all 'crapola' because it flies in the face of decades of 'history' written by men who wrote for Socialist newspapers (Sandburg) and interview for Socialist websites (Mcpherson). What'd they do? Take pictures of black men in Confederate uniform and somehow fix the photograph so it looked like it was in the 1860s? You know there are people who believe man never landed on the moon, but they're kooky too. Blacks who have traced their heritage back to brave Confederate soldiers? What? They fixed those documents too? But you keep on keeping on there son. You Asa, and Jimmy, keep the faith. Won't do you a hill of beans against facts, but you keep on

[STONEWALLS]

"But were they soldiers? That question is tricky..."

....IMHO it's pretty clear cut.....no one in 2003 would deny veteran's status to present day Army truck drivers, cooks, mechanics, bandsmen, medics, welders ect....they're not any different than the cooks, teamsters, grooms, litter bearers, ferriers, smiths, butchers, saddlers, harness makers ect of 165 years ago....without those kind of people neither Lee nor Grant could have kept an Army in the field very long....

[ohioman]

Yeah, well a lot of ancestors of those "dead soldiers of a losing army" are now fighting in Iraq. Should they not honor all those in their family who fought with honor? We sure do in my family. All detractors can kiss our collective Rebel American Arse.

[Grand Old Partisan]

Neo-Confederates twist themselves into knots hunting for (non-existent) blacks who fought with the rebels, yet competely ignore the 100,000 southern whites who enlisted in the U.S. Army during the Civil War. Among the several dozen regiments of white southerners who defended our country were the 10th U.S. Tennessee Infantry, the 1st U.S. Misssissippi Mounted Rifles, the 4th U.S. Arkansas Infantry, and Sherman's personal escort on his march to thesea, the 1st U.S. Alabama Cavalry.

[Grand Old Partisan]

The difference, is those black teamsters and such in the Confederate army were S-L-A-V-E-S.

[jonalvy44]

Wonder what the pc crowd will make of this? Paul Begala of course, claims the CSA Battle Flag is a symbol of racism, the freakin moron.

Good story, thanks!

Anyone ever visit www.dixieoutfitters.com

They have some cool shirts I want...In particular, they have a particularly mean NB Forrest one and a John S. Mosby one that are very cool tributes to these guys.

[Lib-Lickers 2]

Why don't you go down to Texas and declare Alamo Day Santa Anna Day?,, I dare you,,,,

[STONEWALLS]

"The difference, is those black teamsters and such in the Confederate army were S-L-A-V-E-S."

....then I take it you would not consider S-L-A-V-E-S who served under Washington to be Revolutionary War veterans.

[Grand Old Partisan]

As Abraham Lincoln often pointed out, F-R-E-E blacks served in the U.S. armed forces during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, and yes, they are honored veterans.