Who said they had to be free? There were many slaves that (and I know this is going to be a little too much for Walt, he might have a coronary)
WILLINGLY fought for the South and for their masters many of who they considered almost as family, that is if you believe Tocqueville and the Slave Narratives. BTW, just finished rereading the As, Cs, and some of the Es of those and would you believe it? About 60/40 for the South. Somebody better tell those folks up in Washington they hadn't sanitized those for public reading. How dare former slaves wish for the days of the Confederacy!! It might start folks asking questions about the true reasons of the War.
Look to Fort Mill, SC(among other locations) and the monument dedicated by Confederate Veterans for the slaves that served with honor
Bill, you were talking about 30,000 combat soldier and the record clearly shows that the confederate government was completely opposed to slaves as combat soldiers until March of 1865. So I'll ask again, where did the 30,000 men come from?
Congratulation on reading the slave narratives. By 60/40 I assume you meant that 60% or greater spoke fondly of their old masters and that isn't surprising. The overwhelming majority of slave owners treated their property carefully and didn't abuse or mistreat it. But if you mean that 60% wish that they were back in slavery, well, I've read enough of the slave narratives to doubt that.