Cultured Canvases.

What was it like to be one of the 186,017 African Americans who served in the Union Army during the Civil War? In surveying the short-term costs and long-term benefits of diversity in black regiments, Dora L. Costa and Matthew E. Kahn gave us a revelatory look into the experience.

During the American Civil War, the contributions of African Americans extended beyond the battlefield. While nearly 300,000 black soldiers and sailors fought for the Union cause, there was also a dedicated group of black doctors and nurses who played a crucial role in saving lives and combating disease.

Here are some remarkable black medical professionals from that era:

Alexander Thomas Augusta: Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Augusta was unable to gain admission to a U.S. medical school due to racial barriers. Undeterred, he pursued his education in Ontario, Canada, becoming the first person of African ancestry to receive a medical degree there.

In 1863, he received a commission as a surgeon in the 7th United States Colored Infantry (USCT), making him the first African American to hold this rank in the U.S. Army.

Augusta later became a faculty member at Howard Medical College and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

John van Surly DeGrasse: A graduate of Maine Medical College, DeGrasse served as an assistant surgeon (lieutenant) in the 35th U.S. Colored Infantry. After the war, he returned to Massachusetts to practice medicine.

David O. Mcord: Mcord graduated from the Medical College of Ohio and served as a surgeon (major) in the 63rd U.S. Colored Infantry.

These black medical professionals defied societal norms and made significant contributions during a challenging period in American history. Their dedication and expertise saved lives and paved the way for future generations of African American physicians.

What other contributions did African Americans make during that time?

African Americans played crucial roles during the American Civil War, extending beyond the battlefield. Here are some of their remarkable contributions:

Harriet Tubman: Known for her courage as a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, Tubman led hundreds of enslaved individuals to freedom through its secret routes. During the Civil War, she also served as a spy and expedition leader for the Union Army. In 1863, she led a successful military expedition, rescuing over 700 enslaved people and dealing a significant blow to the Confederacy.

Alexander Thomas Augusta: Faced with discrimination in the U.S., Augusta earned his medical degree in Canada and returned to serve as the Union Army’s highest-ranking Black officer during the war.

Abraham Galloway: A soldier, spy, and state senator, Galloway actively worked to abolish slavery and discrimination.

Frederick Douglass: An abolitionist, Douglass advocated for Black recruitment into the Union Army, pushing for full citizenship for African Americans.

Robert Smalls: A sailor turned senator, Smalls made significant contributions both at sea and in politics.

Susie King Taylor: A teacher and battlefield nurse, Taylor cared for wounded soldiers and contributed to the war effort.
These individuals, in their own unique ways, changed the course of American history during a critical period.

In early 1863, the War Department allowed for the recruitment of free Blacks in the North. That spring, ex-slaves in the Confederacy began being recruited, especially in areas liberated by the Union. Eventually, about three quarters of those who served were former slaves.

“Colored Troops,” as they were called, were paid less than their white counterparts. They could be promoted to corporal or sergeant positions, but did not get a corresponding raise in salary. All the officers were white.

In addition to the usual hazards of war and disease—the latter of which accounted for nearly 90% of deaths for Black servicemen—Black troops faced uncertainty about their fates if they were captured. The Confederates wouldn’t necessarily treat them as prisoners of war.

Death by hanging was not uncommon. One of the most notorious incidents of the war was the Fort Pillow Massacre in April, 1864, where hundreds of surrendering Black troops were murdered in cold blood by Confederate soldiers.

In addition to the perils of war faced by all Civil War soldiers, black soldiers faced additional problems stemming from racial prejudice. Racial discrimination was prevalent even in the North, and discriminatory practices permeated the U.S. military. Segregated units were formed with black enlisted men and typically commanded by white officers and black noncommissioned officers.

The 54th Massachusetts was commanded by Robert Shaw and the 1st South Carolina by Thomas Wentworth Higginson—both white. Black soldiers were initially paid $10 per month from which $3 was automatically deducted for clothing, resulting in a net pay of $7. In contrast, white soldiers received $13 per month from which no clothing allowance was drawn.

Within the ranks, Black troops faced repeated humiliations; most were employed in menial assignments and kept in rear-echelon, fatigue jobs. If captured by the Confederates, they faced execution. But despite these trials, African American soldiers won their fight for equal pay in 1864 and in 1865 they were allowed to serve as line officers. Drawing upon the education and training they received in the military, many former troops became community leaders during Reconstruction.

In June 1864 Congress granted equal pay to the U.S. Colored Troops and made the action retroactive. Black soldiers received the same rations and supplies. In addition, they received comparable medical care.

The black troops, however, faced greater peril than white troops when captured by the Confederate Army. In 1863 the Confederate Congress threatened to punish severely officers of black troops and to enslave black soldiers. As a result, President Lincoln issued General Order 252, threatening reprisal on Confederate prisoners of war (POWs) for any mistreatment of black troops.

Although the threat generally restrained the Confederates, black captives were typically treated more harshly than white captives. In perhaps the most heinous known example of abuse, Confederate soldiers shot to death black Union soldiers captured at the Fort Pillow, TN, engagement of 1864. Confederate General Nathan B. Forrest witnessed the massacre and did nothing to stop it.

Eighteen African Americans won Medals of Honor, the nation’s highest achievement, for their service. The majority of African-American troops, however, were not allowed to serve in combat.

Garrison and fatigue duty (usually heavy labor) were the orders of the day. The segregated U.S. militaries in both the First and Second World Wars would deploy the majority of Black soldiers in a similar manner.

Costa and Kahn reviewed the service and pension records of nearly 6,000 Black Union Army soldiers who served in 51 infantry companies. They wanted to know what the effects of being in a diverse unit were during and after the war.

They considered diversity in terms of place of birth, born-free or in bondage, age, literacy, and whether their white officers were abolitionists.

Free men and those recently liberated by their abolitionist commanders were generally in good standing following the war. The experience was a good one: learning to read, learning about other places, abandoning names imposed on them by their former masters. Long-term benefits could lead to the forging of new identities and skills for a post-war, post-slavery world.

But while a majority of Northern Black men served, only a small fraction of Black men in the slave states did. Northern free men benefited the most, but ex-slaves who served “may have paved the way for other ex-slaves, by helping them adjust to freedom and to migrate” away from rural areas.

In sum, Costa and Kahn found that diversity wasn’t necessarily good from a military standpoint, but that the “postwar benefits of company diversity may have been extremely high.”

One Union captain explained the significance of Black military participation on the attitudes of many White soldiers. “A great many [White people],” he wrote, “have the idea that the entire Negro race are vastly their inferiors. A few weeks of calm unprejudiced life here would disabuse them, I think. I have a more elevated opinion of their abilities than I ever had before. I know that many of them are vastly the superiors of those . . . who would condemn them to a life of brutal degradation.”