Why is more not heard about Black Confederates?  Ed Bearrs, National Park Service historian, stated,  “I don’t want to call it a conspiracy to ignore the role of Blacks both above and below the Mason-Dixon line, but it was definitely a tendency,  which began around 1910.”  Historian, Erwin L. Jordan, Jr., called it a “cover-up” which started as early as 1865. He wrote, “During my research, I came across instances where Black men stated they were soldiers, but you can plainly see where ‘soldier’ is crossed out and ‘body servant’ inserted, or ‘teamster’ on pension applications.” Roland Young, a black historian, , said he was not surprised that blacks fought. He explained that “…some, if not most, Black southerners would support their country” and that by doing so they were “demonstrating it’s possible to hate the system of slavery and love one’s country.” That is the very reaction most African Americans portrayed during the American Revolution, when they fought for the colonies; even though the British offered them freedom if they would fight on the side of the British, against the colonies.   

It is estimated over 65,000 Southern blacks served in the Confederate ranks.  Over 13,000 of theem, “saw the elephant”; known as meeting the enemy in combat. Those Black Confederates included both slave and free blacks.  The Confederate Congress did not approve blacks to be officially enlisted as soldiers, only as musicians, until late in the war.  But in the file and rank it was a different story.  Many Confederate officers ignored the mandates of politicians and frequently enlisted blacks, with the simple question; “Will you fight?”   Historian Ervin Jordan, explained that “biracial units” were frequently organized “by local Confederate and State militia Commanders in response to immediate threats in the form of Union raids…”.  An African-American professor at Southern University, Dr. Leonard Haynes, stated, “When you eliminate the black Confederate soldier, you’ve eliminated the history of the South.” 

The "Richmond Howitzers" were partially manned by black militiamen and saw action at 1st Manassas, or 1st Battle of Bull Run, where they manned battery no. 2.  In addition two black “regiments”, one free and one slave, fought in the battle under the flag of the South.  John Parker, a former slave, stated,  “Many colored people were killed in the action” James Washington, Co. D 34^th Texas Cavalry, “Terrell’s Texas Cavalry” became it’s 3^rd Sergeant; a Black Confederate non-commissioned officer. The highest-ranking Black Union soldier during the war was only a Sergeant Major. 

In the Confederacy, free black musicians, cooks, soldiers and teamsters all earned the same rate of pay as white confederate privates. In the Union army, however,  ehat was not the case. Blacks did not receive equal pay, but less than Union whites. At the Confederate Buffalo Forge in Rockbridge County, Virginia, skilled black workers earned on average $350-$600 a year; three times the wages of white Confederate soldiers and more than most o0f the Confederate army officers. Chief Inspector of the United States Sanitary Commission, Dr. Lewis Steiner, while observing Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson's occupation of Frederick, Maryland, in 1862 stated,  "Over 3,000 Negroes must be included in this number [Confederate troops]. These were clad in all kinds of uniforms, not only in cast-off or captured United States uniforms, but in coats with Southern buttons, State buttons, etc. These were shabby, but not shabbier or seedier than those worn by white men in the rebel ranks. Most of the Negroes had arms, rifles, muskets, sabers, bowie-knives, dirks, etc., and were manifestly an integral portion of the Southern Confederate Army." 

Frederick Douglas reported, “There are at the present moment many Colored men in the Confederate Army doing duty not only as cooks, servants and laborers, but real soldiers, having musket on their shoulders, and bullets in their pockets, ready to shoot down any loyal troops and do all that soldiers may do to destroy the Federal government and build up that of the rebels.” Black and white militiamen alike returned heavy fire on Union troops at the Battle of Griswoldsville, near Macon, Ga. And  around 600 young boys and elderly men were killed in that skirmish. The “Jackson Battalion” included two companies of all black soldiers, which  saw combat at Petersburg under Col. Shipp. Co;onel Shipp reported, "My men acted with utmost promptness and goodwill...Allow me to state sir that they behaved in an extraordinary acceptable manner." 

Recently the National Park Service recognized that blacks did help defend the city of   Petersburg, Virginia and were offered their freedom to do so. Regardless of their official classification, black Americans performed many support functions that in today's military many would definitely be classified as official military service. The successes of white Confederate troops in battle, could never have been achieved without the support of loyal black Southerners. Confederate General John B. Gordon, Army of Northern Virginia, reported that all his troops were in favor of Colored troops and that had it been adopted it would have “greatly encouraged the army”. General Lee was anxious to receive regiments of black soldiers. On 24 Mar 1864, the Richmond Sentinel reported, “None…will deny that our servants are more worthy of respect than the motley hordes, which come against us.” “Bad faith [to black Confederates] must be avoided as an indelible dishonor.” 

Judah P. Benjamin, Confederate Secretary Of State, in March 1865, promised freedom for any blaier service that served from the State of Virginia. Authority for this was finally received from the State of Virginia and on April 1st 1865, $100 inducements were offered to black soldiers.  Benjamin exclaimed, “Let us say to every Negro who wants to go into the ranks, go and fight, and you are free…Fight for your masters and you shall have your freedom.” Confederate Officers were officially ordered to treat blacks humanely and protect them from any "injustice and oppression".  A quota of 300,000 black soldiers for the Confederate States Colored Troops was established and 83% of Richmond's male slave population immediately volunteered for duty. In Richmond a special gala ball was held, specifically to raise money for uniforms for those black soldiers. Before the fall of Richmond, black Confederates in gray uniforms openly and proudly drilled in the streets. Due to the close of the war, however, only a few companies of those troops ever saw action. Many more black soldiers fought for the North than the south, but that was because the North instituted the policy sooner than the more conservative South. Black soldiers from both sides, however,  saw instances of  discrimination because of some whites that opposed the idea of using black soldiers.. 

Union General U.S. Grant in Feb 1865, ordered the capture of “all the Negro men… before the enemy can put them in their ranks.”  Frederick Douglas warned Lincoln that unless slaves in Union controlled areas where they were still slaves, were guaranteed freedom and land bounties, “they would take up arms for the rebels”.  On April 4, 1865 in Amelia County, VA , a Confederate supply train was attacked by Federal Cavalry. As it turned out, it was exclusively manned and guarded by "Major Turner's" Confederate command, of black Infantry. They stood their ground and fought off the first charge, but on the second charge were overwhelmed. 

One Black Confederate, named George, was captured by Federals and bribed to desert to the Union side. He defiance he shouted, "Sir, you want me to desert, and I ain't no deserter. Down South, deserters disgrace their families and I am never going to do that." Horace King, another former slave, accumulated great wealth as a contractor to the Confederate Navy; he was an expert engineer and became widely known as the “Bridge builder of the Confederacy.” His home was pillaged by Union troops, as his wife pleaded and begged for mercy; to no avail.  Later, one of his bridges was burned in a Yankee raid. By as late as Feb. 1865, a total of 1,150 black seamen had served valiantly in the service of the Confederate Navy. Aboard the CSS Shenandoah, one of those black seamen was the last “Confederate” to surrender; a full  six months after the end of the war, in England. Nearly 180,000 Black Southerners from Virginia, alone provided logistical support for the Confederate Army; many being highly skilled workers. Their jobs included nurses, military engineers, teamsters, ordnance department workers, brakemen, firemen, harness makers, blacksmiths, wagonmakers, boatmen, mechanics and wheelwrights.  It was not until the 1920's that Confederate pensions were finally awarded to those that were still living. Thousands more blacks served in similar positions in a number of other Confederate States. 

In 1864 Confederate President Jefferson Davis approved a plan for the emancipation of all slaves in the south, in return for official recognition of the Confederacy by Britain and France.  France showed a definite interest in the proposal, but Britain refused and it never came to be. Still, most southern slaves were given a choice of freedom, which some took. Many, however, choose to stay with their former masters, while others choose to join the Confederate Army and fight against the north. 

Many members of the United Confederate Veterans Organization, during the early 1900’s, sought to award former slaves rural acreage and a home; which had been promised them. Slaves who fought, for the Union and the Confederacy, were once promised “forty acres and a mule”; but never received any compensation.  In 1913 the Confederate Veteran magazine published by the United Confederate Veterans, printed the proposal and stated  “If not Democratic, it is [the] Confederate” thing to do. There was much gratitude toward former slaves, which “thousands were loyal, to the last degree”, black soldiers of both sides were living in total poverty in the major cities throughout the United States. Their proposal, upon reaching the U.S. Government and Capitol Hill,  fell on deaf ears and was defeated. Black soldiers were betrayed by the federal government as was indigenous Indian Americans throughout history; many by the government they fought for. 

The commission in charge of the 5oth Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, in 1913, made arrangements for a joint reunion of Union and Confederate veterans. They had made sure there were accommodations for black Union veterans as they were expected, but were taken by great surprise when many black Confederates arrived unexpectedly.  They were immediately welcomed their old white Confederates comrades, who gave them tents and saw to their every need; integrating them into their midst as they had done during the war.  Almost every Confederate veteran that attended, including the black Confederates, proudly wore their Confederate gray uniforms. 

The first and largest military monument  in the U.S, Capitol to honor African-American soldiers is found in Arlington National cemetery; a Confederate monument. Designed in 1914 by Moses Ezekiel, a Jewish Confederate, the monument was designed to correctly portray the “racial makeup” of the Confederate Army.  It portrays a  very large scene of a black Confederate soldier marching in unison with his fellow white Confederate soldiers; also portrayed is a “white soldier giving his child to a black woman for protection”. A total contridiction to all that was told and taught regarding whites and blacks in the defense of the south.

Black “Confederate” heritage is finally beginning to receive the attention it deserves. Terri Williams, a black journalist for the Suffolk “Virginia Pilot” newspaper, wrote: “I’ve had to re-examine my feelings toward the [Confederate] flag…It started when I read a newspaper article about an elderly black man whose ancestor worked with the Confederate forces. The man spoke with pride about his family member’s contribution to the cause, was photographed with the [Confederate] flag draped over his lap…that’s why I now have no definite stand on just what the flag symbolizes, because it no longer is their history, or my history, but our history.”  

Lastly, one must not forget the heroic 1,385 mile cross country walk of a 55-year-old  black man, from Ashville, North Carolina to Austin,Texas; dressed in a Confederate uniform and carrying the battle flag of the Confederate States of America to promote Southern heritage. Mr. H.K. Edgerton of the Southern Legal Resource Center and a former president of the Asheville, N.C., chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, (NAACP)  has been fighting to protect the Confederate flag and southern heritage for over five years. He also marched on the N.C. courthouse in an effort to have the Confederate flag re-instated.   A leading figure in the NAACP he proudly stood up with the Confederate flag and declared, “--this flag is not about hate; but about heritage”. It was about his heritage. He is a direct descendant of a black Confederate soldier that fought proudly for the south, against the Union invasion. He is also a member of and a director in the “Sons of Confederate Veterans” and is proud of his southern heritage. Edgerton is an honorary lifetime member of the Texas chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and an honorary member of 20 other SCV camps. He is also president of the North Carolina Heritage Preservation Association - a group mainly associated with the descendants of slave owners. Edgerton says his grandfather was deeded 500 acres of land in Rutherford County, N.C., by his former master, after the Civil War. Edgerton said the bond between his ancestors and their master was so close they considered themselves "family." Edgerton further stated he defends the Confederacy to expose the “lies that liberal politicians, the media and civil rights groups continue to tell about the effects of slavery and the Civil War”.  "All these folks want to twist our history and make out like black folks are so scared of the [Confederate] flag and they hate the Southland and hate white folks," Edgerton said. "Well, that's not true." According to him, black Americans earned a place of "honor and dignity" under the Confederate flag he now defends. 

SOURCES

Barrow, Charles Kelly, Forgotten Confederates: An Anthology About Black Southerners, 1995

                      Betsch, Michael L., CNSNews  

                 Jordan, Jr, Ervin L.,  Black Confederates and Afro-Yankees in Civil War Virginia, 1995

                 Linex II, Raymond, Daily Sun Staff

                 National Park Service

                 Rollins, Richard,  Black Southerners in Gray, 1994

                 Smith, Edward, African American professor at the American University, Washington DC. 

                 Smith, Dr. Edward and Nelson Winbush, “Black Southern Heritage”. An educational video,

                     [Mr. Winbush is a descendent of a Black Confederate and a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans]

                 Sons of Confederate Veterans archives

                 Western North Carolina Citizens for an End to Institutional Bigotry (WNCCEIB), Asheville, N.C.

 PHOTOS

Lewis, Hunter  Herald Sun New Sides, Kirk, Daily Sun News