![]() ![]() In actual numbers, African American soldiers comprised 10% of the entire Union Army. However, state and local militia units had already begun enlisting blacks, including the Black Brigade of Cincinnati, raised in September to help provide manpower to thwart a feared Confederate raid on Cincinnati.Īfrican-American troops bury the dead at Fredericksburg, Virginia On July 17, 1862, Congress passed two acts allowing the enlistment of African Americans, but official enrollment occurred only after the September 1862 issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. Despite official reluctance from above, a number of officers in the field experimented, with varying degrees of success, in raising black regiments, including David Hunter, James H. Concerns over the response of the border states (of which one, Maryland, surrounded Washington D.C.), the response of white soldiers and officers, as well as the effectiveness of a colored fighting force were raised. The issue of raising black regiments in the Union's war efforts was at first met with trepidation by officials within the Union command structure, Abraham Lincoln included. ![]()
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