The Civil War's African-American Soldiers Through Primary Sources by Carin T. Ford

Author:Carin T. Ford [Ford, Carin T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4645-1096-0
Publisher: Enslow Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2013-08-10T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

PRIMARY SOURCE

Image Credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

During the Civil War, about 30,000 African Americans served in the Union navy. This portrait shows an African-American sailor in uniform.

* * *

But by the time Confederate leaders finally agreed to enlist African Americans, the war was almost over. Few slaves joined the Confederate army.

African Americans also served bravely at sea. In the North, about 30,000 African Americans served in the U.S. Navy. This was about one-fourth of all Union sailors.8

One of the most famous seamen was Robert Smalls, a South Carolina slave. Smalls became a pilot on the Confederate ship Planter. One evening, the crew was alone on the steamship. Smalls planned a daring escape. He quickly put on the captain’s uniform. Then he carefully guided the ship out of Charleston Harbor, past the Confederate troops on the shore. He steamed over to a Union ship and offered them his boat. The Planter became a Union ship, with Smalls as its pilot. He served as pilot of the Planter, as well as other boats, for the rest of the war.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.