|
The history of African Americans in the American Civil War is marked by 186,097 (7,122 officers, 178,975 enlisted/soldiers & sailors)〔Herbert Aptheker, "Negro Casualties in the Civil War", ''"The Journal of Negro History"'', Vol. 32, No. 1. (January, 1947).〕 African Americans comprising 163 units who served in the United States Army, then nicknamed the "Union Army" during the Civil War. Later in the War many regiments were recruited and organized as the "United States Colored Troops", which reinforced the Northern side substantially in the last two years. Many more African Americans served in the United States Navy also known as the "Union Navy" and formed a large percentage of many ships' crews. Both free African Americans and runaway slaves joined the fight. On the Confederate/Southern side, both free and slave Blacks were used for manual labor, but the issue of whether to arm them, and under what terms, became a major source of debate within the Confederate Congress, the President's Cabinet, and C.S. War Department staff. They were authorized in the last month of the War in March 1865, to recruit, train and arm slaves, but no significant numbers were ever raised or recruited. ==Union Army (U.S. Army)== The issue of raising African American regiments in the Union's war efforts was at first met with trepidation by officials within the Union command structure, President Abraham Lincoln included. Concerns over the response of the border states (of which one, Maryland, surrounded the National Capital of Washington D.C.), the response of white soldiers and officers, as well as the effectiveness of a colored fighting force were raised.〔James McPherson, ''"The Negro's Civil War"''.〕〔Edward G. Longacre, "Black Troops in the Army of the James", 1863-65 ''"Military Affairs"'', Vol. 45, No. 1 (February 1981), p.3〕 Despite official reluctance from above, a number of officers in the field experimented, with varying degrees of success, in using "contrabands" first for manual labor around Army camps and on the march to later raising Black regiments, of soldiers, including Gen. David Hunter, (1802-1886), U.S. Sen./Gen. James H. Lane, (1814-1866), and Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, (1818-1893), of Massachusetts.〔 On July 17, 1862, the U.S. Congress passed two Acts allowing for the enlistment of "Colored" troops (African Americans)〔U.S. Statutes at Large XII, p. 589-92〕 but official enrollment occurred only after the final issuance of the "Emancipation Proclamation" in January 1863. However, State and local militia units had already begun enlisting Blacks, including the "Black Brigade of Cincinnati", raised in September 1862 to help provide manpower to thwart a feared Confederate raid on Cincinnati from Kentucky. In actual numbers, African American soldiers eventually comprised 10% of the entire Union Army (United States Army). Losses among African Americans were high, in the last year and a half and from all reported casualties, approximately 20% of all African Americans enrolled in the military lost their lives during the Civil War.〔 Notably, their mortality rate was significantly higher than white soldiers; 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Military history of African Americans in the American Civil War」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|