In honor of Black History Month, Dr. Fairy Hayes-Scott, owner of MarketingNewAuthors.com (MANA), reads excerpts from, "The Early American Black Soldier" by Marcus Howard.
The article is one of many in the book, Bare Essentials: A Handbook for Beginner Writers, 19th ed., by Dr. Fairy Hayes-Scott. The handbook is very wide in its scope teaching students and writers to correct their grammar, write strong essays, research themes, and research papers. The handbook also contains poetry and photos to tickle the imagination. Visit MANA's website at MarketingNewAuthors.com to learn more about the book.
The Early American Black Soldier
by Marcus Howard
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American history, sometimes, gives a distorted image of the African American during the War of the Rebellion. The image is of a Black family sitting on the plantation veranda, spitting watermelon seeds, and singing old Negro spirituals while old Thomas is playing his banjo, all waiting for the Union soldier to liberate them, “glory hallelujah.”
The truth of the matter is the African-American soldier was responsible to a large degree for his own liberation. However, the forces within the military establishment improperly prepared and inflicted military injustices on the Black soldier. Therefore, the early American Black soldier was improperly prepared for battle, suffered military injustices, but, still, met the challenge and triumphed.
First, the military establishment did not properly prepare the Black soldier for battle. The Union was reluctant to make the African American a soldier. When it, finally, did, the military did not give its Black soldiers training equal to their white counterparts (Meyer 207). Often equipment issued to the African-American troops was inferior. Some of it was condemned. At the battle of Milliken’s Bend Louisiana, the Black soldier was given weapons one day before the attack by the Confederate Army.
As for the arms and supplies, Brigadier General Daniel Ullman wrote a letter in December, 1863, complaining that his Negro soldier had just been sent into battle with arms which were almost entireable [sic] unserviceable. After inspecting several Negro companies stationed in Mississippi, Lorenzo Thomas, adjutant general, made this report: “This regiment like most of this class of soldier, have the old flintlock muskets, altered to percussion, which have been in use for a long time.” (Johnson 284)
