Replies

Post 375 includes links to some of our prior discussion about Black Confederates. There is substancial evidence that the Confederacy did have colored troops. Dismissal of this fact would indicate a biased scholar or revisionary. Most historians admit their presence, though there are still many "unturned stones."

The memories of threads long gone....

Most historians admit their presence, though there are still many "unturned stones."

That too is true. Such "mainstream" civil war historians as William Davis even acknowledge the existence of black confederates.

On the other hand, some historians and wannabe historians such as Jim McPherson deny their existence despite evidence ranging from photographs to tombstones to eyewitness accounts to newspapers to pension records to even the official records of the United States Government. It is extremely difficult to believe that these persons are unaware of that evidence, thus their denial can only be attributed to an agenda of some sort. In the case of McPherson it is a leftist agenda. In the case of others its range includes everything from political correctness to south hatred to state worship and beyond.

There is substancial evidence that the Confederacy did have colored troops.

Come on, stainless. Your links don't show anything other than the Steiner report for support, sorry that I have a problem accepting a novel for supporting information.

For the record, again, I agree that thousands of blacks were brought along with the confederate army for use as servants, teamsters, cooks, laborers, and the like. I agree that they served from the very first days of the war. I'll even agree that many, perhaps most, came from their own free will. But that is a far cry from the hundreds of thousands of black combat soldiers claimed by people like stand waite. There is no hard evidence of widespread use of blacks in combat by the confederates. I don't doubt that there may have been exceptions but those exceptions were rare and was not sanctioned by Davis and the army high command. I post this, not in an attempt to demean the service of those blacks who served, but to try ind bring some sanity to the discussion.

And before I get a long-winded post from GOPcapitalist or nolu chan let me hasten to add that I'm aware of the March 1865 legislation that finally authorized black confederate combat troops and my prior post should be modified to read "no hard evidence of widespread use of blacks in combat by the confederates prior to March 1865".

There is substancial [sic] evidence that the Confederacy did have colored troops.

There were not more than a handful, and no organized units until the last weeks.

Walt