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Re: Enlisted African Confederates
Just a couple thoughts and observations that may throw a wrench into this ongoing debate:
Mr. Brewer, Mr. Dabney, and others have posted some excellent first-person accounts about Afro-Confederates. But if you examine them more closely, they're really second- or third-hand accounts. The OR reports are mostly Colonel X passing on the report of Captain Y who related the actions of a patrol from his company. There's certainly room for error and embellishment during that chain of communication. What's left is close to hearsay.
Also, the newspaper accounts have plenty of room for bias, error, or outright myth. Remember that it was common for appers of this time to repeat or republish stories from other sources. Sometimes the details of location or people involved might be altered to make it seem like it happened locally, but the basic plot stays the same. It's similar to the urban legend phenomenon. I just read an excellent book by Michael Allen, Western Rivermen, 1763-1861: Ohio and Mississippi Boatmen and the Myth of the Alligator Horse which talked about this theme as regards the folk legends of the western rivermen. Also, Southern papers performed quite a bit of morale boosting during the time, part of which consisted of assuring readers that the enslaved population of the South was loyal and supportive. This rose out of the great pre-war fears of slave-uprisings which increased with the outbreak of hostilities and the departure of so many whites to the service.
What I'm trying to get at is that although we have plenty of perfectly acceptable primary source material, some of it so kindly posted here, it shouldn't necessarily be taken at face value. Although it may be the best we have as far as hearing a voice from that time, it still needs to be evaluated for error or bias.
The image of the Afro-Confederate soldier on the Confederate Monument at Arlington can serve to illustrate my point. Images may be found on the website that was discussed earlier in this thread, http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/count...is/blackcs.htm. You will notice that the man in question is not visibly bearing arms. The musket behind his head is on the shoulder of the soldier to the left; you can see the lock on it, which means if the black man is carrying it, he's doing so very awkwardly. So we have a black man marching among the ranks of soldiers. He is wearing a kepi, and possibly a uniform jacket. His exact status is unclear. Is he an enslaved bodyservant? A free one? A free black enlisted man? A musician? His position in the army is ambiguous, as is much of the evidence on this topic. I would say that his inclusion in the scene echos Mr. Dabney's comments and was the artist's way of stating that, as is his inclusion of the children entrusted to the enslaved woman.
I will admit that this observation is made from what I can see from these images. I've seen expanded views of the tableau before, and I believe that I'm correct that the individual in question is not shouldering a musket. If anyone can provide an image showing that he is definitely armed then there's certainly egg on my face!
Just a couple thoughts and observations that may throw a wrench into this ongoing debate:
Mr. Brewer, Mr. Dabney, and others have posted some excellent first-person accounts about Afro-Confederates. But if you examine them more closely, they're really second- or third-hand accounts. The OR reports are mostly Colonel X passing on the report of Captain Y who related the actions of a patrol from his company. There's certainly room for error and embellishment during that chain of communication. What's left is close to hearsay.
Also, the newspaper accounts have plenty of room for bias, error, or outright myth. Remember that it was common for appers of this time to repeat or republish stories from other sources. Sometimes the details of location or people involved might be altered to make it seem like it happened locally, but the basic plot stays the same. It's similar to the urban legend phenomenon. I just read an excellent book by Michael Allen, Western Rivermen, 1763-1861: Ohio and Mississippi Boatmen and the Myth of the Alligator Horse which talked about this theme as regards the folk legends of the western rivermen. Also, Southern papers performed quite a bit of morale boosting during the time, part of which consisted of assuring readers that the enslaved population of the South was loyal and supportive. This rose out of the great pre-war fears of slave-uprisings which increased with the outbreak of hostilities and the departure of so many whites to the service.
What I'm trying to get at is that although we have plenty of perfectly acceptable primary source material, some of it so kindly posted here, it shouldn't necessarily be taken at face value. Although it may be the best we have as far as hearing a voice from that time, it still needs to be evaluated for error or bias.
The image of the Afro-Confederate soldier on the Confederate Monument at Arlington can serve to illustrate my point. Images may be found on the website that was discussed earlier in this thread, http://www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/count...is/blackcs.htm. You will notice that the man in question is not visibly bearing arms. The musket behind his head is on the shoulder of the soldier to the left; you can see the lock on it, which means if the black man is carrying it, he's doing so very awkwardly. So we have a black man marching among the ranks of soldiers. He is wearing a kepi, and possibly a uniform jacket. His exact status is unclear. Is he an enslaved bodyservant? A free one? A free black enlisted man? A musician? His position in the army is ambiguous, as is much of the evidence on this topic. I would say that his inclusion in the scene echos Mr. Dabney's comments and was the artist's way of stating that, as is his inclusion of the children entrusted to the enslaved woman.
I will admit that this observation is made from what I can see from these images. I've seen expanded views of the tableau before, and I believe that I'm correct that the individual in question is not shouldering a musket. If anyone can provide an image showing that he is definitely armed then there's certainly egg on my face!
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