quote:
As much as I'd like to believe this, I can't find any credible source that can back this up. Blacks made up quite a few of the camp followers for any Southern army, but there are no stories I can find of any blacks serving in combat with whites, or serving (armed) in combat vs Yankee forces at all. Perhaps there was one, but the proof eludes.

I know the New York Times isn't very credible, but here's a first person account of a black confederate soldier serving in combat at the first Bull Run.

Here's a short paper with examples. It is on the sons of confederate veteran's website but the paper has a bibliography so the info should be verifiable.

Harvard University has a guy that says it happened too.

The number is quite small and nowhere near what some people would have you believe, but there's no doubt at all that black soldiers served (some willingly, many not) alongside whites and in combat for the Confederacy.

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Posted by BadLeroyDawg

Member since Aug 2013

848 posts

Posted on 3/10/15 at 8:24 pm to JustGetItRight

Here's another one that might be difficult to believe. The Union Army used slave labor, referred to as "Contrabands" for grunt and shovel work, to free up white soldiers for combat. They were not paid for their services, but were given food and occasionally clothing. Sound a little like a cheap version of the plantation? BTW, there were many free blacks in the South prior to the outbreak of the hostilities. They defended their homes as well.

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