Embedded Files
Andrew and Silas Chandler, 1861
Healing Wars considers the parts of the Civil War less talked about, illuminating aspects of both the past and present. In this room, the Freeman character represents the reality that many former slaves and other non-white individuals experienced as grave diggers and laborers. Though some were permitted to fight, most were tasked with non-combat duties, often assigned to the work nobody wanted to do.
Black, Indigenous, and people of color made important contributions to the Civil War, and go largely unrecognized for that work.
Black, Indigenous, and People of color in the Civil War
Black, Indigenous, and People of color in the Civil War
Black men served Union and Confederate forces throughout the war as body servants, laborers, and in the construction of fortifications. Often, Black laborers traveling with military regiments would be tasked with clearing a battlefield of the dead in the days following a battle. In 1863, Black men were permitted to be soldiers, and began to be recruited into the ranks of Union soldiers. The Confederate Congress allowed Black men to serve as armed soldiers beginning in March of 1865, only months before the end of the war. Black women contributed to the war effort as cooks, cleaners, organizers, nurses, scouts, and spies.
Native American allegiances varied during the Civil War, but were often motivated by a common desire to protect tribal lands and lifeways. Approximately 3,503 Native Americans served in the Union Army. Though exact numbers are not known, many more Native people allied with the Confederacy. Even more participated indirectly, aiding or sabotaging one side or another while remaining outside the military. Native nations supporting either side of the war hoped their service would encourage the federal government to honor treaties that recognized tribal land rights. The war exacted a terrible toll on Indigenous people. One-third of all Cherokees and Seminoles in Indian Territory died from violence, starvation, and war-related illness. Despite their sacrifice, American Indians would discover that their tribal lands were even less secure after the war. (From NMAI Smithsonian)
Hispanics and Latinos fought for both sides in the war. Not all of them were U.S. citizens; many of them were Spanish subjects or nationals from countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America, or born in a US territory without the right to citizenship. Approximately 3,500 Latinos, mostly Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Cubans joined the war, 2,500 for the Confederacy and 1,000 for the Union. This number increased to 10,000 by the end of the war.
Lieutenant Colonel José Francisco Chaves had been an officer in the Mexican Army before joining the Union as major of the 1st New Mexico Infantry Regiment. He fought in the Battle of Valverde alongside Colonel Kit Carson, and later became the Secretary of Education for New Mexico.
Indigenous Union officer Ely Samuel Parker (born Hasanoanda of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation) was commissioned a lieutenant colonel during the Civil War, and served as secretary to General Ulysses S. Grant. Famously, he wrote the terms of surrender for Confederate General Robert E. Lee to sign, which ended the Civil War. In 1869, President Grant appointed him as the first non-white commissioner of Indian Affairs.
Confederate slaves would sometimes accompany their enslavers in the Civil War. An example of this is Silas Chandler, who accompanied Andrew and Benjamin Chandler as a "manservant" in Company F of the 44th Mississippi Infantry. In 1861, Andrew and Silas were photographed together in Confederate uniforms, holding what was likely photographer's props. (Photo at top of page)
José Francisco Chaves
Ely Samuel Parker
The U.S. Colored Troops
The U.S. Colored Troops
The United States Colored Troops (USCT) was the designation given to the approximately 175 regiments of non-white soldiers that served during the Civil War. The troops were primarily African American, but Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders were all included within the ranks, as well. By the end of the war, nearly a tenth of the entire Union Army consisted of member of the USCT, which peaked at 178,000 individuals.
Before the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863, both sides of the war were hesitant to recruit non-white soldiers into the army. Following the Proclamation, though, the Union began full scale recruitment of Black troops. The USCT was officially established in May of 1863, and fought in every major military battle the Union Army was involved in from inception to the end of the war.
For the first year, Black soldiers earned a net pay of $7 a month while their white counterparts earned $13. This changed in mid-1864 when Congress passed a law requiring equal pay to all soldiers regardless of race, and retroactively paid USCT soldiers. The USCT was disbanded in the fall of 1865, months after the Civil War ended. (From Blackpast.org)
Fourth U.S. Infantry Detail, U.S. Colored Troops, 1864
4th United States Colored Troops in Washington, DC.
Mass graves and burial sites
Mass graves and burial sites
Because of the high death toll at individual battles during the Civil War, many burial sites were on the battlefield, or else in mass (often unmarked) graves. Many of the bodies at Gettysburg, the bloodiest battle of the war with 51,000 casualties, remained on the field for weeks to months.
Today, many bodies are still nameless - they lie in mass graves, are recognized by monuments and statues, or are simply covered by earth. In the south, the largest mass grave is located in the city of Salisbury, North Carolina, which was once the site of a Confederate prison. In 1861, 10,000 or more captured Union soldiers were housed in a four-story prison building that was intended to hold only 250 people. A shortage of clothing and medicine meant that most prisoners, as many as 11,700, died of disease over the next four years. Today, The Salisbury National Cemetery contains side-by-side trenches containing the nameless bodies of thousands of Union soldiers.
In Illinois, a woman named Corene McDaniel is working to locate, record, and spread the word about United States Colored Troops servicemen that are buried at Mound City National Cemetery. She hopes to aid history buffs and families who frequently visit the cemetery in search of Civil War-veteran relatives. Her broader mission is to help change the image of Black Americans in the Civil War, and recognize their undervalued contributions. To learn more about her efforts, visit this site.
Soldiers National Monument at the center of Gettysburg National Cemetery.
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