Constitutional Rights Foundation
Constitutional Rights Foundation: Black Troops in Union Blue
Activity on African American troops in the Union Army. Students read article for background information, answer questions, then analyze and write about the controversies in a piece to be published in a mock Frederick Douglass's Paper.
US National Archives
Docsteach: Integration of the u.s. Armed Forces
Students will draw upon the visual and textual data presented in photographs and documents to gain an understanding of the participation of African Americans in the U.S. Armed Forces and of changes in American military policy regarding...
Curated OER
National Park Service: The American Civil War: African Americans
An overview of African American's contributions during the Civil War. Presents the history, contributions, and information on the Underground Railroad.
Library of Congress
Loc: Learning Page: African American Soldiers During the Civil War
This resource provides an overview of the African American soldiers who fought during the Civil War.
US National Archives
Nara: Teaching With Documents: Black Soldiers in the Civil War
This comprehensive site from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) describes the history of the participation of colored troops in the Civil War and government efforts to research and compile records about them....
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Soldiers: Making of African American Identity: 1500 1865
Photographs of and letters from black soldiers-both enslaved and free-from the late-eighteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries that examine military experience for African Americans.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Emancipation: Civil War Ii: Soldiers
Photographs of and letters from slaves and former slaves who fought for the Union or were forced to fight for the Confederacy during the Civil War.
Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press.
New Georgia Encyclopedia: History and Archaeology: Black Troops in Civil War Georgia
The New Georgia Encyclopedia provides an article describing the role, recruitment, and enlistment of black troops in Georgia during the Civil War.
US National Archives
Our Documents: War Dept General Order 143: Creation of Us Colored Troops (1863)
Original document that permitted the recruitment of black troops during the Civil War. Read about events and issues leading up to and following the 1863 establishment of the Bureau of Colored Troops.
Other
Hart Island History: Ny State's Civil War "u.s. Colored Troops"
After a brief history of African-American regiments from New York, you can read about the United Stated Colored Troops in general, where they fought, how they were paid, and the number of casualties among the troops.
Other
Camp Nelson: United States Colored Troops at Camp Nelson
This site from Camp Nelson provides text, photos, and original documents of Camp Nelson, a refugee and training camp for African-Americans during the Civil War.
University of North Carolina
Susie (Baker) King Taylor: Reminiscences of My Life in Camp
Electronic Edition of the text Reminiscences of My Life in Camp with the 33d United States Colored Troops
US National Archives
National Archives: Black Soldiers in the Civil War
Increasing pressures on the Union army led to the recruitment of African Americans to fight in the Civil War. Students will analyze the following recruitment poster for freed slaves and decide how important the black soldiers were to a...
US National Archives
National Archives: Comparing Civil War Recruitment Posters
The Lincoln administration struggled with the idea of recruiting black troops until it became a necessity for the Union army. Compare and contrast the following recruitment posters - one for recruiting black men for the Union army and...
US National Archives
Docsteach: Black Soldiers in the Civil War
In this activity students will analyze a two-page poster that the Government used to recruit recently freed slaves to fight for the Union Army during the Civil War. The poster refers to the Emancipation Proclamation and to President...
US National Archives
Docsteach: Comparing Civil War Recruitment Posters
Students will compare and contrast military recruitment posters to analyze various perspectives regarding the role of African Americans during the Civil War. They will determine the purpose of each poster - one recruiting black men for...
Other
Mr. Lincoln and Freedom: Black Soldiers: Louisiana and Massachusetts
A complete discourse on the incorporation of black soldiers into the Union Army during the Civil War. The 54th Massachusetts Regiment is discussed in regard to the recruitment and the attack on Fort Wagner.
Other
Union Regimental Histories: Corps De Afrique and the Civil War
This site gives brief histories of the 25 regiments in the Corps De Afrique who served in the Civil War. From "A Compendium of the War of Rebellion" by Frederick H. Dyer.
Virginia Historical Society
Virginia Historical Society: Waging War: The Battlefront: Men of Color to Arms?
When the war began, many African Americans - North and South - volunteered to serve as soldiers. The vast majority were former slaves who sought to strike at slavery and improve their position in society. Desperate to avert defeat, the...
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Frederick Douglass' Role in the Civil War
Frederick Douglass had the ear of Abraham Lincoln. Read about how he used his influence to allow African Americans to join the Union Army,
A&E Television
History.com: How Black Women Fought for Civil War Pensions and Benefits
In a time when military pensions were a large part of the federal budget, Black women faced unique challenges in securing compensation. Widows of Civil War soldiers could begin applying to the Bureau of Pensions during the war, and one...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harcourt: School Publishers: Black Civil War Soldiers Honored
Article describing the ceremony in Boston in 1997 in which Colin Powell honored the black soldiers who fought in the Civil War.
American Battlefield Trust
American Battlefield Trust: Civil War Biography: Susie (Baker) King Taylor
This is a PowerPoint resource that gives factual account of Susie King Taylor's life and involvement in the Civil War.