The Confederate House of Representatives had passed a bill in February that authorized the recruitment of slaves into the Confederate armies. However, the bill had been defeated in the Senate by one vote, with Senate President Robert M.T. Hunter of Virginia leading the opposition. The Virginia legislature then passed its own black military recruitment bill and directed Hunter to call a re-vote and support the bill this time. Hunter agreed to do the bidding of the legislators who had appointed him to his position, so a re-vote was called. Before Hunter changed his vote, he delivered a speech opposing to what the legislature was about to have him do.
Hunter declared that secession should have settled the slavery question, but it unfortunately did not. He warned that if the government could force slaveowners to hand over their slaves for military service, it could also set them free, because “when they come out scarred from this conflict they must be free.” Hunter added, “If we are right in passing this measure, we are wrong in denying to the old (U.S.) government the right to interfere with slavery and to emancipate the slaves. If we offer the slaves their freedom as a boon, we confess that we were insincere and hypocritical in saying slavery was the best state for the negroes themselves.” The bill narrowly passed, 9 to 8. Several senators abstained.
Two days later, General-in-Chief Robert E. Lee requested that President Jefferson Davis approve the measure as soon as Congress reconciled the final version, stating, “I attach great importance to the result of the first experiment with these troops…”
The law, officially titled “A Bill to Increase the Military Forces of the Confederate States,” contained five sections:
- 1-The president could call on slaveowners to relinquish any number of slaves that he determined to be needed to carry on the war, and the president could direct what type of services the slaves would provide.
- 2-The general-in-chief could organize the slaves into military units, up to brigade level, the secretary of war could establish guidelines on how these units would be handled, and the president could appoint unit commanders.
- 3-Slaves would receive the same treatment as all other troops in the same branch of service, including equal rations, clothing, and pay.
- 4-If the president’s call for slaves was not enough to carry on the war, the president could call up another 300,000 from each state, regardless of race, as long as no more than 25 percent of the male slaves between the ages of 18 and 45 in any state are called upon.
- 5-Nothing in this act would alter the relations between slaves and their owners without the consent of the owners and the states in which they reside.
Adhering to the Confederate Constitution’s protection of states’ rights, Congress deferred to slaveholders and their state legislatures to decide whether to offer freedom to slaves for their service. This fell far short of what Major-General Patrick R. Cleburne had proposed in January 1864, and it disappointed both Lee and Davis, who felt that any slave who fought for the Confederate cause should be automatically freed. Moreover, slaves would not be given the choice to volunteer; rather, their owners could hand them over upon request for mandatory service.
Despite these provisions, most officials acknowledged that freedom would most likely be granted to all who served, and therefore Davis ultimately approved the measure. In granting his endorsement, Davis took the opportunity to criticize Congress for taking so long to act on this matter. Davis then wrote to Lee:
“I am in receipt of your favor in regard to the bill for putting negroes in the army. The bill was received from the Congress to-day and was immediately signed. I shall be pleased to receive such suggestions from you as will aid me in carrying out the law, and I trust you will endeavor in every available mode to give promptitude to the requisite action.”
It remained unknown whether slaveholders would be willing to send their slaves into combat. It was also unknown whether slaves would be willing combatants. According to an article in a black newspaper:
“Secret associations were at once organized in Richmond, which rapidly spread throughout Virginia… it was decided with great unanimity, and finally ratified by all the auxiliary associations everywhere, that black men should promptly respond to the call of the Rebel chiefs, whenever it should be made, for them to take up arms… if they were placed in front as soon as the battle began the Negroes were to raise a shout about Abraham Lincoln and the Union, and, satisfied there would be plenty of supports from the Federal force, they were to turn like uncaged tigers upon the rebel hordes. Should they be placed in the rear, it was also understood, that as soon as firing began, they were to charge furiously upon the chivalry, which would place them between two fires; which would disastrously defeat the army of Lee, if not accomplish its entire annihilation.”
Within a week, a new battalion of white hospital convalescents and black hospital orderlies marched to Richmond’s Capitol Square to the strains of “Dixie” and began drilling. Confederate officials did not intend for these troops to see combat, but only to encourage other slaves to join the cause. However, as Davis noted, Congress had waited too long to enact the measure for it to help the Confederate war effort, as few slaves joined the Confederate armies before the war ended. A further measure authorizing the recruitment of teenagers and the elderly also accomplished little.
References
- Angle, Paul M., A Pictorial History of the Civil War Years. New York: Doubleday, 1967.
- Catton, Bruce and Long, E.B. (ed.), Never Call Retreat: Centennial History of the Civil War Book 3. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc. (Kindle Edition), 1965.
- Foote, Shelby, The Civil War, A Narrative: Red River to Appomattox. New York: Vintage Civil War Library, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group (Kindle Edition), 2011.
- Korn, Jerry, Pursuit to Appomattox: The Last Battles. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1983.
- Long, E.B. with Long, Barbara, The Civil War Day by Day. New York: Da Capo Press, Inc., 1971.
- McPherson, James M., Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. Oxford History of the United States Book 6, Oxford University Press (Kindle Edition), 1988.
- Pollard, Edward A., Southern History of the War (facsimile of the 1866 edition). New York: Fairfax Press, 1990.
- Robertson, Jr., James I., Tenting Tonight: The Soldier’s Life. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1983.
- SonOfTheSouth.net.
- Ward, Geoffrey C., Burns, Ric, Burns, Ken, The Civil War. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990.