The USCT
There were no black soldiers at the start of the Civil War. The Confederacy refused to accept their service, and the Union only reluctantly began black recruitment in 1862. But African Americans proved to be good soldiers and the Union soon ramped up recruiting and formed the United States Colored Troops. By war's end there were nearly 180,000 Black Soldiers in the army and another 25,000 sailors in the Navy. While the army was segregated, with black troops led by white officers, the Navy was integrated. Many of these black soldiers were former slaves, who escaped and crossed the battle lines to enlist with the Union.

A largely untold story . . .

To take just one Southern State as an example, nearly 18,000 black Mississippians fought on the side of the Union – compared to 82,000 whites who fought for the Confederacy. Comparable numbers can be found throughout the South and yet this side of the war has seldom been told. Many of these soldiers learned to read during their time in the Army and became leaders in their communities after the war was over. Dr. Frank Smith of the African American Civil War Museum talks about this in the video on this page.