Black Dispatches: The Role Of African Americans In The Civil War

In the historical backdrop of the United States, African Americans have constantly been discriminated. When Africans first came to America, they had no choice but to work as laborers. They became slaves to the rich, covetous, lethargic Americans. African-Americans were working as slaves but they could not support their families because they were not paid. Additionally, they were regularly whipped and beaten. They suffered numerous times to get their freedoms, yet when the Civil War came African Americans had this logic that if they were to join the Civil War they could liberate all slaves. However, their chance of becoming soldiers and battling in the Civil War was not an easy process. Likewise, they were criticized for not being the right …show more content…
The South declined to arm blacks, yet used them to manufacture fortresses and perform camp labors. Some blacks filled in as spies and scouts for the Union Army, giving important data about the Confederate powers, arrangements, and well-known landscapes (149). Data collected from black sources were countless and were very profitable, with their incredible skills they were placed in as unique category— called the Black Dispatches. Runaway slaves, many who fled to the Union lines, were alluded to as contrabands in the early phases of the war since they were viewed as the property of Confederates states. They were deliberately questioned and some were selected as spies. Freed blacks, such as Harriet Tubman, were spies, scouts, and agents. Additionally, Tubman prominently commanded an attack outside Beaufort, South Carolina, in 1863 (150). The estimation of the Black Dispatches was acknowledged all in the Union and also by the Confederacy—General Robert E. Lee stated, "The chief source of information to the enemy is through our Negroes" (Sutherland 69). Without the help of African Americans, commanders could not come across this important information. They would be clueless and that could cause the Civil War to never end. (Back it up with …show more content…
After the Civil War, the African Americans had finally received their freedom. Even though this might be known as the bloodiest battle in the U.S., it got the African Americans its freedom and the U.S. to recall how they got it. Regardless of status or the faithfulness in them, African Americans were treated poorly compared to an average White man; they were less important than dirt. Despite all the racial prejudice they constantly face, African Americans are persistent and brave individuals and help shape the history of America. have contributed so much in the Civil