Black History

African American History

1861 to 1865

African-American Soldiers and Sailors in the U.S. Civil War

Although many served in the infantry and artillery, discriminatory practices resulted in large numbers of African-American soldiers being assigned to perform non- ..
Alexander Augusta: Pioneering War Doctor. With discrimination blocking his dreams of becoming a doctor in the United States, Alexander ...

Black Soldiers: The Civil War in Four Minutes

​Join Historian Hari Jones as he summarizes the experiences of African American Civil War soldiers, from emancipation to the authorization of United States Colored Troops to their experiences on the battlefield. This video is part of the American Battlefield Trust's In4 video series, which presents short videos on basic Civil War topics. Learn more at: https://www.battlefields.org/?utm_sou...

Voices of the Civil War Episode 24:"African Americans in the Confederate Army"

By the end of 1863, with the Confederate army lacking resources, funds, and manpower, it had become clear to Confederate General Patrick Cleburne that the south desperately needed to find ways to recruit new soldiers for the rebel cause. Calling it "a plan which we believe will save our country," in January 1864, he called upon the leaders of the Army of the Tennessee and proposed the emancipation of slaves in order to enlist them in the Confederate war effort. In Episode 24 we explore the role of African Americans in the Confederate States Army.
Yet even during the Civil War, the faithful representation and memory of African American soldiers' wartime experience were under attack.

Black Soldiers in the Civil War | Georgia Stories

​On this episode of Georgia Stories; K Company, 54th Massachusetts Infantry reenactors Ray Wozniack, James Hayes, and Bob English describe the difficulties faced by black soldiers and their white officers. First they fought for the right to fight when many whites did not want them to take up arms, and then they fought and died for a cause bigger than themselves. Original Air Date: 02/26/1994 For standards, timelines, and supplemental materials, visit our website at http://www.gpb.org/georgiastories
Preserving the Legacy of the United States Colored Troops By Budge ... with the National Park Service's Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (CWSS). ... This list of names will be available at the African American Civil War ...
Presentation U.S. History Primary Source Timeline. Previous ... By the end of the war, approximately 180,000 African-American soldiers had joined the fight.

African American Faces of the Civil War: An Album

​Ronald Coddington discusses the third volume in his series on Civil War soldiers, which contains previously unpublished photographs of African American Civil War participants -- many of whom fought to secure their freedom. Speaker Biography: A renowned collector of Civil War photographs and a prodigious researcher, Ronald S. Coddington combines compelling archival images with biographical stories that reveal the human side of the war. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feat...
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Nearly 180000 free black men and escaped slaves served in the Union Army during the Civil War. But at first they were denied the right to fight by a prejudiced​ ...

One of our best secrets: African American victories in the Civil War | Hari Jones | TEDxGreensboro

​Of the many truisms about the Civil War, one that is not correct is that there were few former slaves involved in the fighting. African American soldiers, primarily in the northern armies, were credited with significant success in the war effort. Jones is an expert on the Civil War; a museum curator and consultant; and, a lecturer. He is on the Board of Directors of the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, PA. Previously he was assistant director and curator at the African American Civil War Freedom Foundation and Museum and content adviser for the National Archives exhibit “Discovering the Civil War.” This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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According to the National Archives, roughly 179,000 black men, or ten percent of the Union Army, served as U.S. soldiers during the Civil War. ( ...

Blacks in the Civil War - Part 1.wmv

​This year America is honoring those who fought in the American Civil War and our show, Africa's Vision Network, did a show last year getting ready for this.It was shot on location at the African American Civil War Museum in Washington D.C. A gem in the heart of D.C. that everyone should go and check out. We are grateful to Mr. Hari Jones, the museum's curator and assistant director for always accomodating us and giving us such a wealth of knowledge.
Two unidentified African American soldiers, between 1860-1870 ... military service in the American Revolution and the Civil War affected African American identity, ... served as a sergeant in the U.S. 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry, a black regiment with a ... Portrait photographs: 5, Unidentified black soldiers and sailor.

Nick Biddle

And then there was Nicholas Biddle (circa 1796-1876), a frail, sixty-five-year-old African American wearing the uniform of the Washington Artillery. Lincoln must ...
Nicholas Biddle:The Civil War's First Blood ... on April 18, 1861, but when they saw Nicholas Biddle, an African American in uniform who was treated as an equal ...
Photograph shows Nicholas Biddle, an African American Union soldier, in uniform, half-length portrait, facing front. Contributor Names: Mortimer, W.R., ...
That is, all except for Nicholas Biddle, who as an African American was prohibited from ... Biddle, a black man in uniform, was an easy target.
Nicholas Biddle becomes the first African American in uniform to be wounded in the Civil War.

Robert Smalls

"Be Free or Die" is a compelling narrative that illuminates Robert Smalls' amazing journey from slave to Union hero and ultimately United States ...
Robert Smalls, born into slavery in Beaufort, South Carolina, did something unimaginable: In the midst of the Civil War, he commandeered a heavily armed ...
Place of death: Beaufort
Place of birth: Beaufort
Date of birth: April 5, 1839
Smalls became skilled at working on ships, eventually advancing to the position of pilot. In 1861, he was hired to work on a steamer called the ...
Robert Smalls was born a slave at Beaufort, South Carolina, on 5 April 1839. He was able to obtain an education and was pilot of the Confederate Army steamer ...

January 1, 1863 - The Emancipation Proclamation

Transcript of the Proclamation
​January 1, 1863
​
A Transcription
By the President of the United States of America:
A Proclamation.
Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:
"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.
"That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States."
Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the day first above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit:
Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth[)], and which excepted parts, are for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.
And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.
And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages.
And I further declare and make known, that such persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.
And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh.
By the President: ABRAHAM LINCOLN
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.
https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation/transcript.html

Emancipation Proclamation - Abraham Lincoln (Full Audio & Text)

This is a complete reading (and text) of Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. ​
Why was the Emancipation Proclamation important? While the ... Main Menu. Lesson Plan ... –Abraham Lincoln, The Emancipation Proclamation, Jan. 1, 1863.

The Emancipation Proclamation: The Civil War in Four Minutes

Join Historian Hari Jones as he describes the series of events which motivated President Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Watch now to discover what the Proclamation said, and what it meant for enslaved people across America. This video is part of the American Battlefield Trust's In4 video series, which presents short videos on basic Civil War topics. Learn more at: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/pr... ​
Resources for teaching about the Emancipation Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln, and the ... The Emancipation Proclamation: Freedom's First Steps Lesson Plan.

The Emancipation Proclamation and the End of Slavery

​Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in America at the time it was written, it fundamentally changed the character of the Civil War. Overnight, a war to preserve the Union became a war for human liberation. A distinguished panel discusses the Emancipation Proclamation and its symbol of hope for the nearly 4 million enslaved people who were held in bondage. Moderated by David Blight, professor of history at Yale University, panelists include Edna Greene Medford, professor of history at Howard University, and others.

Enslavement to Emancipation

​A TV-16 special presentation. Tune in for this unprecedented television event tracing freedom's first steps in the Nation's Capital. "Enslavement to Emancipation" is an informative and compelling television documentary chronicling the history of the Compensated Emancipation Act of April 16, 1862, freeing the enslaved people of Washington, DC. Featured historians and experts describe the creation and history of the city's annual Emancipation Day celebration and our continuing struggle for full democracy in DC. The documentary also highlights the single largest attempted slave escape in U.S. history -- the daring and dramatic bid for freedom aboard a schooner called the Pearl. "Enslavement to Emancipation" recounts the heroic war-time contributions of what was then called the U.S. First Colored Troops, African American slaves-turned-soldiers fighting for the Union during the Civil War. These are just a few of the historic events detailed in this special television production presented only on TV-16.
With the Emancipation Proclamation, President Lincoln freed all enslaved people in “rebellious” states, forbid the military from repressing their freedom and ...

The Emancipation Strategy | National Geographic

​Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation adds moral purpose to a bloody war and 200,000 black recruits to Union ranks.
In this lesson from The African American: Many Rivers to Cross, students explore the realities of life after the Emancipation Proclamation and learn about ...

The 54th Massachusetts Regiment

History through Hollywood

Picture
​Glory (1989)
​Robert Gould Shaw leads the U.S. Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices from both his own Union Army, and the Confederates.
Director: Edward Zwick
Stars: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes

54th Massachusetts: The Civil War in Four Minutes

Learn more at: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/re... ​
The 54th Regiment Massachusetts Infantry was a volunteer Union regiment organized in the American Civil War. Its members became known ...
The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment is best known for its service leading the failed Union assault on Battery Wagner, a Confederate earthwork fortification on Morris Island, on July 18, 1863.

Medal of Honor Recipient Melvin Morris walks in the footsteps of the 54th Massachusetts

​Visit Morris Island, South Carolina, scene of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry’s dramatic assault on Fort Wagner, with Medal of Honor recipient Melvin Morris.

First black Union regiment marks 150 years since defining battle

​The 54th Massachusetts Regiment was an African American unit that fought against the Confederate Army at the battle of Fort Wagner in South Carolina during the Civil War on July 18, 1863. William Carney, an escaped slave was its flag bearer and was the first African American awarded a Medal of Honor. David Martin reports.

William H. Carney

William Harvey Carney was an American soldier during the American Civil War. Born as a slave, he was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1900 for his gallantry in saving the regimental colors during the Battle of Fort Wagner in 1863. Wikipedia
https://www.nps.gov/nebe/learn/historyculture/williamcarney.htm

Medal of Honor Recipient: William H Carney

On episode six, the story of William H Carney is told. ​

William Harvey Carney | The Unsung Heroes of the Civil War | Ancestral Findings | AF-265

​There have been nearly three and a half thousand military service members in the United States who have been awarded the prestigious Medal of Honor. Of these, only eighty-eight of them have been African Americans. Civil War hero William Harvey Carney was one of them...
We'll start with the first black recipient of the award: Army Sgt. William H. Carney, who earned the honor for protecting one of the United States' greatest symbols ...
Place of birth: Norfolk
Feb 5, 2018 — William H. Carney: The first black soldier to earn the Medal of Honor. Thomas M. Hammond. February ...
William H. Carney, just twenty-three years old, joined the Morgan Guards in February of 1863. This Black militia, originally named for a White ...

African-American Medal of Honor recipients

Wikipedia: ​List of African-American Medal of Honor recipients

African American Medal of Honor Recipients · Bruce Anderson · William H. Barnes · Powhatan Beaty · Robert Blake · James H. Bronson · William H. Brown · Wilson ...
African Americans Awarded the Medal of Honor ... This Medal of Honor and Purple Heart were awarded posthumously to Sgt. Cornelius H. Charlton for his bravery ...
Sergeant William Harvey Carney is recognized as the first African-American MOH recipient to receive the award. Carney's father, William, .
The investigation determined that seven African-American soldiers should have received the Medal of Honor during World War II. Those seven ...

War Department General Order 143

The War Department issued General Order 143 on May 22, 1863, creating the United States Colored Troops. By the end of the Civil War, roughly 179,000 black ...
IV. No persons shall be allowed to recruit for colored troops except specially authorized by the War Department; and no such authority will be given to persons who ...
143 established a military body to regulate the recruitment, training and ... of United States Colored Troops. GENERAL ORDERS, No. 143. WAR DEPARTMENT,
War Department General Order 143. 5/22/1863. Print. Add to Favorites: Create a new folder and put document in it. Default Folder, Folder created on March 24, ...

Wade-Davis Bill 

The Wade–Davis Bill of 1864 was a bill "to guarantee to certain States whose governments have been usurped or overthrown a republican form of government," proposed for the Reconstruction of the South. Wikipedia
The Wade-Davis Bill required that 50 percent of a state's white males take a loyalty oath to be readmitted to the Union. In addition, states were required to give blacks the right to vote. Congress passed the Wade-Davis Bill, but President Lincoln chose not to sign it, killing the bill with a pocket veto.
Wade-Davis Bill (1864) - Our Documents
A constitutional amendment to abolish slavery had also failed in June. On the last day of the Congressional session in July 1864, Congress passed the Wade- ...
This bill proposed conditions to be met by the former Confederate states prior to their return to the Union at the conclusion of the Civil War. It required that 50 ...
Led by the Radical Republicans in the House and Senate, Congress passed the Wade-Davis bill on July 2, 1864—co-sponsored by Senator Benjamin Wade of ...
Known as the 10 percent plan, it offered repatriation for Confederate states if 10 percent of eligible voters agreed to an oath of allegiance to the Constitution and ...

13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:
​Abolition of Slavery

The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The amendment was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified by the required 27 of the then 36 states on December 6, 1865, and proclaimed on December 18. Wikipedia

Constitution Hall Pass: The 13th Amendment

The 13th Amendment states: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly ...

The Thirteenth Amendment: Black History Moment

​The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. In Congress, it was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House on January 31, 1865. The amendment was ratified by the required number of states on December 6, 1865. Thank you DeShawna Yamini for your outstanding efforts in producing this series!

Thirteenth Amendment - Decades TV Network

​"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." On February 1, 1865, President Lincoln formally abolished slavery with his signature of the thirteenth amendment to the constitution.
The 13th amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery. The House Joint Resolution proposing the 13th amendment to the Constitution, ...
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or ...

President Obama on 150th Anniversary of 13th Amendment - FULL VIDEO (C-SPAN)

​President Obama delivers remarks in the United States Capitol on the 150th Anniversary of the 13th Amendment. Watch the complete ceremony here: http://cs.pn/1NMeyIZ

The 13th Amendment: Slavery is still legal under one condition

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NO, the 13th Amendment Doesn't Legalize Slavery Through Incarceration!

​This dangerous narrative has gained recent traction. Tune in to hear Larry address it. For those of you un-Woke normal citizens, here is some background According to History.com: The 13th Amendment, ratified in 1865, says: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” Scholars, activists and prisoners have linked that exception clause to the rise of a prison system that incarcerates Black people at more than five times the rate of white people, and profits off of their unpaid or underpaid labor.