Eagles on Their Buttons: A Black Infantry Regiment in the Civil WarEagles on Their Buttons is a fascinating examination of the Fifth Regiment of Infantry, United States Colored Troops -- the Union Army's first black regiment from Ohio. Although the Fifth USCT was one of more than 150 regiments of black troops making up more than 10 percent of the Union Army at the end of the war, it was unique. The majority of USCT regiments were made up of freed men who viewed the army as an escape from slavery and a chance to take up arms against their former masters. The men serving in the 5th USCT, however, were freemen who were raised in a northern state and saw serving in the army both as a way to gain equal rights under the law and as an opportunity to prove their worth as men. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved. |
From inside the book
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... Confederacy. Despite the popular perception, African-American men from Ohio did serve, did fight, and did earn the ... Confederate states. Nearly all of these had been slaves before the war. Although the South held nearly 4 million ...
... Confederates in four other skirmishes.6 The 5th USCT is also distinguished by having had four of the army's sixteen African- American recipients of Civil War Medals of Honor in its ranks. An examination of the 5th USCT will show what ...
... Confederate states. The men who wanted to see African Americans in uniform had reasons as varied as the men who volunteered for service. Some wanted to put down the rebellion at all costs and believed that the black soldier was just ...
... Confederates during the first two years of the war , abolitionists , blacks , and others who wanted to see black soldiers in the Union army fought a fierce battle of words in the various presses . Abolitionist newspapers like the ...
... Confederate government, which had disbanded and disarmed them. These men claimed the right to serve based on nearly unbroken service from 1727. Louisiana was the only state that had colored militia in 1803, and two of these companies ...
Contents
Leaders | 17 |
The Regiment Moves South | 32 |
The Battle of New Market Heights and Aftermath | 50 |
Operations in North Carolina 18641865 | 65 |
Appendix A USCT Enlistments by State | 78 |
Notes | 91 |
Index | 111 |