This paper discusses the role that black Southerners played in helping the Confederate army during the American Civil War.
A paper which discusses how Black Southerners played a role in fighting on the side of the Confederate Army against the Unionists during America’s Civil War. Several issues discussed are the motivation for Blacks to help Confederacy, the legality of Blacks in the Confederate army, the ways in which Blacks helped the Confederate army, legislation, battle stories, the need for black Southern troops, and the establishment of black Confederate army units.
Not all blacks in the South believed that when the Union army swept in from the North to reclaim the lands of the southern United States it would make their lives better. In fact, a portion of the Southern black population believed so strongly in the right of the Confederacy to separate itself from the United States that they fought against the encroaching Unionists. Black Confederates showed their loyalty in multiple ways; military service in combat, support units of cooks and fortification builders, or if military service was a physical incapability or illegal for the Southern patriots, monetary donations were made to support their cause.