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The history of African Americans in the U.S. Civil War is marked by 186,097 (7,122 officers, 178,975 enlisted) [26] African-American men, comprising 163 units, who served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and many more African Americans served in the Union Navy. Both free African Americans and runaway slaves joined the fight.
In actual numbers, African-American soldiers eventually constituted 10% of the entire Union Army (United States Army). Losses among African Americans were high: In the last year and a half and from all reported casualties, approximately 20% of all African Americans enrolled in the military lost their lives during the Civil War.
An African-American military policeman on a motorcycle in front of the "colored" MP entrance, Columbus, Georgia, in 1942.. A series of policies were formerly issued by the U.S. military which entailed the separation of white and non-white American soldiers, prohibitions on the recruitment of people of color and restrictions of ethnic minorities to supporting roles.
African Americans, mostly escaped slaves, had been recruited into the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers. They accompanied white troops to Missouri to break up Confederate guerrilla activities based out of Hog Island near Butler, Missouri. Although outnumbered, the African-American soldiers fought valiantly, and the Union forces won the engagement.
The African American Patriots who served the Continental Army, found that the postwar military held few rewards for them. It was much reduced in size, and state legislatures such as Connecticut and Massachusetts in 1784 and 1785, respectively, banned all Blacks, free or enslaved, from military service.
African Americans have always been involved in United States military service since its inception despite official policies of racial segregation and discrimination. [2] In 1948 President Harry S. Truman abolished discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin. [2]
An African-American military policeman on a motorcycle in front of the "colored" MP entrance, Columbus, Georgia, in 1942.. African Americans have served the U.S. military in every war the United States has fought. [1]
The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that saw extensive service in the Union Army during the American Civil War.The unit was the second African-American regiment, following the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry Regiment, organized in the Northern states during the Civil War. [1]