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African Americans were more than enslaved people during the Civil War. Many became productive citizens, including Congressmen, a senator, a governor, business owners, tradesmen and tradeswomen, soldiers, sailors, reporters, and historians.
After President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, Black soldiers could officially fight for the U.S. Army during the Civil War.
By the end of the Civil War, roughly 179,000 black men (10% of the Union Army) served as soldiers in the U.S. Army and another 19,000 served in the Navy. Nearly 40,000 black soldiers died over the course of the war—30,000 of infection or disease.
African Americans, including former enslaved individuals, served in the American Civil War. The 186,097 black men who joined the Union Army included 7,122 officers and 178,975 enlisted soldiers. [1] Approximately 20,000 black sailors served in the Union Navy and formed a large percentage of many ships' crews. [2]
By the end of the Civil War more than 186,000 African Americans were in the Union army. They performed heroically despite discrimination in pay, rations, equipment, and assignments as well as the unrelenting hostility of the Confederate troops.
If captured by the Confederate Army, African-American soldiers confronted a much greater threat than did their white counterparts. In spite of their many hardships, African-American soldiers served the Union Army well and distinguished themselves in many battles.
From fighting on bloody battlefields to espionage behind enemy lines; from daring escapes to political maneuvering; from saving wounded soldiers to teaching them how to read, these six African...