1. The Confederate Reaction to Black Soldiers
11.5

2. The Abuse and Murder of Black Troops
Confederate leaders didn’t recognize black troops as legitimate soldiers
Black soldiers were frequently sold into slavery, abused or murdered rather than be treated as prisoners of war
The Confederate Secretary or War ordered that captured black soldiers be executed

3. The Abuse and Murder of Black Troops
After 80 captured members of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment were being tried as slaves in rebellion protests in the North prompted Lincoln to react
He issued General Order 11 which threatened to begin executing southern POW’s or sentencing them to hard labor, for every Union soldier that was enslaved or executed
In the end the men of the 54th Regiment were sent to POW camps

4. The Ft. Pillow Massacre
The war’s worst atrocity against black soldiers
occurred in Tennessee at Ft. Pillow in 1864
Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest ordered his troops to execute a group of black soldiers after they had surrendered
Instead of retaliating as was required by General Order 11, Lincoln claimed that punishment would be issued only when these men were captured
No one was punished for these murders during or after the war

5. Liberators, Spies and Guides
African Americans supported the Union cause in ways outside of the military as well
Robert Smalls, a 23 year old slave, stole a Confederate supply ship and sailed it North to freedom
Harriet Tubman organized a spy ring in S. Carolina that helped to destroy plantations and free over 800 slaves, many of whom joined the Union army
Many Southern slaves acted as spies for the Union. Drawing maps of Confederate fortifications and relaying information they heard to the Union

6. Assignment
1. How did Confederate leaders and troops respond to black soldiers in the army?
2. How were captured African American soldiers treated in the South?
3. How did Abraham Lincoln respond to this treatment?
4. What occurred at Ft. Pillow in 1864? How was this act dealt with?
5. Other than on the battlefield, describe the contributions of African Americans to the Union war effort. Be specific