Historical Moments: Military Contributions of African Americans. Robert Harris
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the promise of freedom if the Americans won the war. This was the same promise made to the slaves during the Revolutionary War but was never kept. After the defeat of the British at New Orleans, the white citizens were concerned that there were so many armed black men in the city; they feared a slave revolt, so they appealed to Jackson to remove them from the city and disarmed them. Jackson not only removed and disarmed them, he also returned those who were slaves back to the plantation. When James heard this, he said, “If my gun had been loaded, I would have shot him,” which would have changed American history.
Blacks and Choctaw Indians at the Battle of New Orleans, 1814.
The Civil War
The Battle Flag of the 29th Colored Infantry Regiment of Connecticut.
“He who is transplanted still sustains.”
The 29th Colored Infantry (Connecticut)
The 29th Infantry Regiment of Connecticut, commanded by Col. William B. Wooster, was an African American unit organized to fight in the Civil War. In February of 1863, the Republican governor John Andrew of Massachusetts called for the formation of an African American unit to fight in the war, and within weeks, the 54th Infantry Regiment was formed. The then Republican governor of Connecticut, William Buckingham, seeing the success of the 54th, decided to raise an African American regiment in Connecticut. So in November of 1863, a bill was passed by the special assembly for the formation of the 29th Infantry; however, there was a very racially charged debate, objecting to arming the African American. Democratic representative William Eaton of Hartford said, “I would rather let loose the wild Commanches than the ferocious negro. The negro is both ferocious and cowardly, and you will let loose upon every household south of the Mason-Dixon Line a band of ferocious men who will spread lust and rape all over the land.” However, an article that appeared in the Hartford Courant showed the African American in a much different light. It highlighted the courage and devotion to duty of the men of the 54th during the assault on Fort Wagner and showed that the African American could engage the enemy on the battlefield with the same commitment to duty as any troops in the field. This flag, which is on display at the state capital in Hartford, was presented to the 29th Infantry on March 19, 1864, in Fair Haven, Connecticut. The ex-slave, statesman, orator, and writer Frederick Douglass was there to send them off to war. The battle flag was so important to the soldiers that men would routinely risk their lives so that the banner would not be captured by the enemy.
African Americans in the Civil War
During that dark chapter in our nation’s history known as the Civil War or the war to end slavery, over 179,000 black men served in 160 units as soldiers, sailors, and in support positions. This number comprised of northern free black men and runaway slaves who enlisted to fight. Many white people believed that the black man would not be brave enough to fight in battle; however, Company A of the 4th Infantry Regiment proved them wrong. They fought with courage and bravery in the face of gunfire and death, and their commanding officer, Gen. Nathaniel Banks praised their valor, courage, and bravery. Black men took up arms in defense of the union in the hope that at the end of the war, they would be set free and given land—forty acres and a mule—but unfortunately this was not to be. The period of reconstruction after the war was filled with Jim Crow laws, lynching, separate and unequal facilities, discrimination in housing, jobs, and denying black people the right to vote. Terrorist groups, like the Ku Klux Klan, all made life very unbearable for the black man.
Company A of the 4th Infantry Regiment
The Butler Medal
Benjamin Butler was a major general in the Civil War who commissioned and paid for a medal from his personal funds. This medal would recognize heroic acts of bravery by the African American soldiers at the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm also called the Battle of New Market Heights. The battle took place at Henrico County, Virginia, in September of 1864, where fourteen African Americans were awarded the Medal of Honor, and two hundred African Americans from the 38th and the 5th Colored Infantry received the Butler Medal. Powhatan Beaty who was a First Sergeant in the 5th Colored Infantry not only was awarded the Medal of Honor, but he also received the Butler Medal as well. The medal was made of solid silver, suspended by a red, white, and blue ribbon and was meant to be worn around the neck. On the back of the medal was a wreath above the words, “Army of the James.” The front of the medal depicted African American soldiers moving forward in battle below an inscription in Latin which read Ferro iis libertas (Freedom will be theirs by the sword). After the war, Butler served in the congress, where he introduces the first Civil Rights Act, bill of 1871, also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act. Under this bill, during the period of reconstruction, federal troops were to be used rather than state militia to enforce the law, and Klansmen arrested and tried in federal court and, if found guilty, were fined or imprisoned for violating the rights of the African Americans. This ended after the undecided presidential election of 1876. Democratic and Republican leaders met and decided that the Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes would become president on the condition that he remove all federal troops from the South. This was called the Compromise of 1877 and it effectively ended the period of reconstruction and gave rise to the Klu Klux Klan, Jim Crow laws, and an increase in lynchings of African Americans.
The following African Americans were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Civil War:
1 Powhatan Beaty 1863
2 Robert Blake 1864
3 William H. Carney 1863
4 James D. Gardner 1864
5 John Lawson 1864
Sgt. Powhatan Beaty
(1837–1916)
Beaty was an army first sergeant of the 5th United States Colored Infantry Regiment. On September 29, 1864, while fighting at the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm in Virginia, he took command of his company after all the officers were killed or wounded and gallantly led it, defeating the Confederate forces.
Robert Blake
(DOB Unknown–DOD Unknown)
Blake was a navy sailor aboard the USS Marblehead off Laurelville on the Stono River, South Carolina. On December 25, 1863, in an engagement with the enemy, he was assigned to a cannon. Blake, an escaped slave, carried out his duties and fought bravely throughout the engagement which resulted in the enemy’s abandonment of their positions and leaving a caisson and several guns behind.
James D. Gardner
(1839–1905)
Gardner was an army private in the 36th United States Colored Infantry Regiment. On September 29, 1864, while fighting at the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm in Virginia, he rushed in ahead of his brigade, shot a rebel officer and ran him through with a bayonet. This action rallied his men to charge and capture the fort.
John H. Lawson
(1837–1919)