History of the United States I / Unit 15 USH1 2154 short lesson, about 20 seconds
African American Soldiers
Captions available
The idea
Union forces used contrabands for manual labour in eighteen sixty-one and sixty-two, and enlisted African American men only after the Proclamation.
In practice
Over one hundred and ninety thousand serving by the war's end in eighteen sixty-five.
Where people slip
About eighty-five percent were formerly enslaved, fighting for universal liberation. The Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts fought at Fort Wagner, South Carolina.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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