Did Slaves Fight with the Confederate Army against the North - Research Paper Example

According to the research findings the issue of slaves’ employment in the ranks of Confederate armies, whether at the front line, as auxiliary troops, or in some other capacity, is considered a twin challenge to contemporary American society. While the scientific circles would appear understandably intrigued by such a kind of terra incognita – insofar as the question is anything but profoundly and sufficiently explored, and the probable results would either confirm or significantly alter the hitherto notion of what is at the bottom of both belligerent sides’ casus belli – the general public might be greatly confused in their understanding of this volatile milestone episode of the American history.

Several publications are indicating that a certain number of enslaved and free Afro-Americans, which varies from a single regiment to as many as 90 000, had been employed by the Confederacy’s army. These, according to the publications and the cited letters, memoirs, and other documents, include the so-called Louisiana Native Guards – a militia regiment comprised of “1400 black men and officers”, the 1st Native Guard of Louisiana, which consisted of 3000 pro-confederate black soldiers and officers, the Richmond Howitzers – “partially manned by black militiamen”, etc.

Such a phenomenon is by no means unparalleled, insofar as several decades after the American Civil War, namely during the Second World War, something similar has occurred once again. Many subjugated nations such as Croats, Romanians, Russians, Cossacks, etc., some of which were particularly treated as German slaves, formed military contingents that fought alongside the German troops throughout the war, till the very end. However, apart from historical parallels, the aforesaid phenomenon deserves special attention concerning its impact on the holistic interpretation of American history.

This paper is organized into six chapters, besides the introductory section. Details on their content are given below. When dealing with the issue of the so-called ‘” black Confederate soldier”5, an obvious point of departure would appear in the various factors that had determined the structure and modus operandi of the Confederate society.

This would explain, to one degree or another, how and why slaves would have supported the system that held them in slavery. The second chapter examines the war-led Confederate legislation, introduced between 1862 and 1865, concerning military conscription and related general orders, circulars, etc. In doing so the chapter attempts to identify the bills and other legislative documents that provided for the recruitment/enlistment of Afro-Americans in the Confederate army, as well as the capacities those slaves and free Afro-Americans have been employed in.