Posted in 13th Amendment Emancipation Proclamation End of War USCT

Did You Learn About the Role of Black Troops in Liberating the South?

No period in United States history echoes as truly today as the Reconstruction Era. While many see contemporary parallels in the Civil War, let’s face…

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Posted in African Americans Emancipation & Reconstruction Slavery USCT

When “The Arrival of Negro Troops” Signaled the End of the Confederacy in the Spring of 1865

Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate army on April 9, 1865. In April and May of 1865 the remaining Confederate forces surrendered to Union armies….

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Posted in Civil War USCT

“It is the aim…to make colored troops equal” Black Troops in Tennessee March 1864

In 1863 the Union Army began to actively recruit African American men for the United States Colored Troops (USCT). While enlisted men in these regiments…

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Posted in Civil War USCT Veterans

The 26th United States Colored Troops-A Black Regiment from New York

Today I am starting a new feature, brief looks at African American regiments that served in the Civil War and Reconstruction. Nearly 180,000 African Americans…

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Posted in African Americans Emancipation & Reconstruction Slavery USCT White Supremacy White Terror

In 1863 When a Black Man Refused to be Whipped Was He a Murderer if He Killed His Enslaver?

Here is an incident that I read about recently set during the early period of Reconstruction while the Civil War was still raging. I found…

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Posted in Book Reviews Memory of Reconstruction Slavery USCT

For Their Own Cause: The 27th United States Colored Troops by Kelly Mezurek

For Their Own Cause: The 27th United States Colored Troops by Kelly Mezurek published by Kent State University Press (2016). $37.95 Hardcover, $18.49 Kindle For Their…

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Posted in Memory of Reconstruction Monuments USCT Veterans

Monument to United States Colored Troops Erected in Ohio

The number of monuments dedicated to United States Colored Troops  (USCT) grew by one this week when a new monument was erected in Ferncliff Cemetery…

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Posted in Ku Klux Klan USCT White Supremacy White Supremacy Apologetics White Terror

Black Troops Engage in Anti-Klan Operations in Tennesee in February 1868

The Klan did not simply run roughshod over the countryside in 1868. Army detachments, including black U.S. soldiers, were sent to combat the Klan. One…

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Posted in 13th Amendment Abolitionists African Americans Emancipation & Reconstruction Memory of Reconstruction Movies USCT

Reviews of “Harriet” Movie from L.A. Times, Rolling Stone, & NPR

I have posted some reviews of the new Civil War/Reconstruction film “Harriet,” about the life of Harriet Tubman. Here are excerpts for several more from…

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Posted in African Americans Emancipation & Reconstruction USCT

New York Peace Democrats: Reasons for Opposing Recruiting Black Union Troops

We don’t often get the full scope of reasons for opposing the recruitment of Black soldiers. This is the view from the Journal of Commerce…

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