The rebels used many slaves as laborers, teamsters, even musicians. There is no credible proof that more than a handful served as soldiers. I have quotes too:
"Mr. Wickham said that our brave soldiers, who have fought so long and nobly, would not stand to be thus placed side by side with negro soldiers. He was opposed to such a measure. The day that such a bill passed Congress sounds the death knell of this Confederacy. The very moment an order goes forth from the War Department authorizing the arming and organizing of negro soldiers there was an eternal end to this struggle."
Gen. Howell Cobb, an unbeliever in this expedient, wrote from Macon, Ga., January 8, 1865: "I think that the proposition is the most pernicious idea that has been suggested since the war began. You cannot make soldiers of slaves or slaves of soldiers. The moment you resort to this your white soldiers are lost to you, and one reason why this proposition is received with favor by some portions of the army is because they hope that when the negro comes in they can retire. You cannot keep white and black troops together, and you cannot trust negroes alone. They won't make soldiers, as they are wanting in every qualification necessary to make one."
A quick synopsis from a website:
"The Confederate Army used many Negro servants and laborers, but did not employ Negro combat troops. A regiment was organized in New Orleans but not accepted into service. In 1863, a proposal to arm slaves was briefly considered. In January 1864, a movement by Pat Cleburne to use slaves as soldiers, giving them freedom for good service, was suppressed by Davis when he learned of it. In November 1864, Davis considered the limited use of negro troops, and R.E. Lee agreed that the idea had merit. In March 1865, the Confederate congress passed a law authorizing that up to 300,000 slaves be called for military service, but there was no mention of their being freed in connection with this duty. The next month a few companies were organized, but the surrender came before any of them were used."
http://www.genealogyforum.rootsweb.com/gfaol/resource/Military/CWNegroTroops.htm
That is the extent of it. Douglass was wrong, or he was exaggerating.
Walt
Once again you simply dismiss the inconvenient statements of Union heroes (for no other reason than their words contradict your revisionist "history") and resort to using quotes specific to that proposal for raising all-black regiments. That proposal was a completely different issue than the blacks that were already a minority percentage serving in one capacity or another with the regular Confederate Army. Dr. Steiner observed that five percent of Jackson's Army was negro, most of those armed and otherwise equipped as soldiers. Not all were, but "most". If you want to have some fun and be disillusioned, Walt, go to Arlington National Cemetery and look at the Confederate Memorial that was erected there in 1914. It was created by a Confederate veteran named Moses Ezekiel, who was knighted by the King of Italy for his work as an artist in Europe after the war. On one of the memorial's panels you will see a bas-relief of Confederate soldiers marching off to war. One of those soldiers is a black man. Go and see for yourself.