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Minstrel-Soldiers: The Construction of African-American Identity in the Union Army

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 July 2009

Matthew Conner
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Extract

The Emancipation of Slaves during the Civil War is celebrated as the pivotal event in African-American history. But this act overshadows another milestone of the war: the mass recruitment of blacks into the Union Army. Although blacks had fought alongside white soldiers since the colonial era, the Civil War was the first conflict in which blacks were enlisted in large numbers and recognized as regular soldiers in the army. By the war's end, black soldiers numbered 180,000 men and contributed crucially to the Union victory.

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Research Article
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Prospects , Volume 26 , October 2001 , pp. 109 - 136
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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2001

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References

NOTES

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50. Jones, introduction, xvii.

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