Vol. 46, No. 6 $ Fact or Fiction? Black Confederates by Lawrence E. Babits, Ph.D. This article deals with a very inflammatory topic, that has bee the subject of great debate, but attempts to present some source cited documentary evidence and information in a sober, calm, and rational fashion. At the sam time, I am well aware that polit ical correctness, and this phras applies to both sides of any argument, might not be seen here. The article is not intended to s brouhaha; rather to encourage people to do some serious research of their own and not rely on what others say. I am also tr ing to give credit where it is d by calling attention to accounts that people either miss or ignor for whatever reason. Today’s terminology is quite different from that used during Civil War. A “Black Confederate” in modern usage has come to describe any African American who served in some military capacity in the Confederate Army, the terms “Black,” “colored,” and “of color” will be used somewhat interchangeably but without complicating the issue too much, many people of color were not
absolutely “black” in the modern African-American context. As just one example, Native Americans living in parts of the South would often be referred to a “colored” or “mulatto. There were laws about this and North Carolina’s constitution spelled out “exactly” what a free person of color was. Under the provisions of North Carolina’s 1855 Code:Section IV Cl. 3:23, a person of color was a “free negro, free mulatto, or free person of mixed blood, descended from negro ancestors to the fourth gener ation inclusive.” The 1855 legal definition is about ancestry and says nothing about appearances that are seemingly so important today. The complications of this definition affect what a “Black Confederate” was in terms of his local community. This article is intended as a line in th sand arguing for more research about these people, their motivations for serving, and further analyses of local perceptions of these people versus “national” perceptions.” Black soldiers have participat ed in all of America’s wars since 1619. Like everyone else, they joined up for a variety of reason that are not always clear today. Some were forced into ranks, but when that happened, the rest of the population was also being involuntarily enrolled. Anyone who has served in the military knows that their only existence, from the military’s point of view is basically whether or not they did their duty. Many men who served were not recorded in muster rolls as to race because it w not so important to the military. Size rolls often do include such information so they could be identified if they went missing i a time when photo identifications did not exist. The Revolutionary War Maryland Continental muster rolls list names, ranks, enli
rolls. This is true of the court martial records as well. It is on in other documents including
pension records, diaries, newspaper accounts, and census data that the ancillary information comes to light. Black Confederate soldiers did exist. Few in number, Blacks served in the ranks and in companies, batteries, and ship complements during the war. The scattered information presented here shows a very small presence, but a real presence, nonetheless. They acted in a variety of roles, including infantrymen, musicians, cooks, and servants. This article will explore some of these nuances, while also identifying men who served and might be called Black Confederates today. The most important record of service, even today, is a soldier’ compiled service record, in modern terms, the DD214. This record includes the soldier’s company, regiment, rank, and sometimes in the case of non-white soldiers in the past, an indication of thei race. The terms that generally appear are black, mulatto, free, and negro [sic]. The term “free” served as a modifying adjective for nouns such those just given as well as abbreviations such as “col.,” “mul.,” and others. These terms, given their specificity as to their military unit a time, are very important because they record how their military associates viewed them; since companies were usually recruited in a single locality, the term also indicates how they were probably viewed at home before the war began, and, perhaps, not how a modern person would identify them. At the same time, there is the issue of what a soldier was. The following is an excerpt from the Customs of Service For
H Confederates . . . . . . . . . . . . see page 6
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