On April 12, 1861 the Southern Confederate forces declared war on the Northern Union forces at Fort Sumner in South Carolina after opening fire for 36 hours. Over the next four years, until April 9, 1865 when Robert E. Lee surrendered after the capture of Richmond, VA, was a gruesome war between North and South. Issues of trade, tariffs, state rights, and most importantly, slavery, were all reasons behind the declaration of war. Over the course of the four years, about 2.75 million men four for their side; 2 million for the Union and 750,000 for the Confederates.1 The Union soldiers fought to conserve the land and power they had with the South and the Confederates fought to defend the rights they thought they had. Although this war was thought
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After the training process, where troops of color were praised for their ability to learn, their days were much different than the whites. African Americans did work that was called fatigue work. This work was necessary tasks that helped maintain the army.They had to do this instead of drilling and preparing for war. The jobs they were forced to do included: digging trenches, building roads, and unloading supplies. They also had to gather firewood, fill in “sinks” (where people used the bathroom), clear stables, and clean equipment.7 Most African American soldiers did not have a problem with doing the work, but, they were often also assigned white troop’s share. They often felt like they were still being treated as slaves when this happened. After doing all of this work, the soldiers were often very tired and had not been training for war, therefore, unprepared. Private William G. Barcroft refused to work one day because he thought he was still being used as laborer instead of a soldier. He was punished for disobeying an officer and sent to two years in an army prison. 8 Historian James McPherson …show more content…
This was reflected in the casualty rates of the two groups. Nearly 6 percent of white Union troops were killed in action, compared with 1.5 percent for black soldiers. On the other hand, the rate of death from disease among black troops (18 percent) was almost twice as high as among
Northern white soldiers. As garrison troops, many black regiments had no chance for combat but suffered from the high disease rates typical of soldiers confined to one place, where their water supply turned foul and they built up deadly accumulations of bacteria. Black regiments also received poorer medical care than whites. There were few black surgeons to draw upon... and white doctors were not notably eager to volunteer for black units. 9
These African Americans fought very hard to train and get to where they were, and the whites took advantage of them once again. Although a rule imposed in June 1864 said that black soldiers must not be given more fatigue work than white soldiers, this rule was often ignored.
After the training process, where troops of color were praised for their ability to learn, their days were much different than the whites. African Americans did work that was called fatigue work. This work was necessary tasks that helped maintain the army.They had to do this instead of drilling and preparing for war. The jobs they were forced to do included: digging trenches, building roads, and unloading supplies. They also had to gather firewood, fill in “sinks” (where people used the bathroom), clear stables, and clean equipment.7 Most African American soldiers did not have a problem with doing the work, but, they were often also assigned white troop’s share. They often felt like they were still being treated as slaves when this happened. After doing all of this work, the soldiers were often very tired and had not been training for war, therefore, unprepared. Private William G. Barcroft refused to work one day because he thought he was still being used as laborer instead of a soldier. He was punished for disobeying an officer and sent to two years in an army prison. 8 Historian James McPherson …show more content…
This was reflected in the casualty rates of the two groups. Nearly 6 percent of white Union troops were killed in action, compared with 1.5 percent for black soldiers. On the other hand, the rate of death from disease among black troops (18 percent) was almost twice as high as among
Northern white soldiers. As garrison troops, many black regiments had no chance for combat but suffered from the high disease rates typical of soldiers confined to one place, where their water supply turned foul and they built up deadly accumulations of bacteria. Black regiments also received poorer medical care than whites. There were few black surgeons to draw upon... and white doctors were not notably eager to volunteer for black units. 9
These African Americans fought very hard to train and get to where they were, and the whites took advantage of them once again. Although a rule imposed in June 1864 said that black soldiers must not be given more fatigue work than white soldiers, this rule was often ignored.