A&E Television
History.com: Black Heroes Throughout Us Military History
Meet the standout soldiers, spies and homefront forces who fought for America, from the Revolution to World War II. During the American Revolution, thousands of Black Americans fought -- on both sides of the conflict. As America's Civil...
Black Past
Black Past: Fort Pillow Massacre
In this encyclopedia entry you'll learn about the Fort Pillow Massacre where Confederate soldiers attacked a Union garrison of whom roughly half, about 300, were runaway slaves who joined the Union Army. Over two-thirds were slaughtered...
Other
Historynet: William H. Carney: 54h Massachusetts Soldier
A dramatic summary of Carney's heroic actions during the Battle of Fort Wagner as well as a brief recount of his life following 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.
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Comission
Explore Pa History: Wartime Mobilization
Read about the short-term problems and long-term successes in mobilizing troops from Pennsylvania to fight in the Civil War. Included is information about the discussion of allowing blacks to serve in the war.
Read Works
Read Works: Passages: "Patrick Cleburne's Proposal to Arm Slaves"
[Free Registration/Login Required] In this letter from January 2, 1864, Patrick R. Cleburne, a Confederate commander, writes to a Confederate general proposing that black soldiers be added to their ranks as they were in grave danger of...
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,
Virginia Historical Society
Virginia Historical Society: Home Front: How Did Slaves Support the Confederacy?
Read about the different roles that slaves and freed blacks took on in Virginia during the Civil War. They provided labor while the white men were away fighting and they helped with the military efforts. Many took the opportunity to...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
Richard Wright, a black boy living in the Jim Crow South, travels north in hopes of escaping the violence and prejudice that rules his childhood. Selected (8) reading passages (grades7-12) to pair with "Black Boy" by Richard Wright....
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.
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.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: African American Veterans and the Civil Rights Movement
Many African American veterans joined the Civil Rights Movement after World War II when they found themselves facing continued discrimination at home. Learn about some of the veterans who were prominent activists.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Presidential Reconstruction
After the death of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson was responsible for implementing Reconstruction in the South after the Civil War. Read about his views on African-Americans, and the leniency he offered Confederate leaders and soldiers....
TexasHistory.com
Texas history.com: African Americans in Uniform on the Texas Frontier
Examines the history of the buffalo soldiers in Texas after the Civil War, the obstacles they faced due to racism, and how other African Americans perceived them.
Library of Congress
Loc: American Memory: African American Odyssey
This site explores Black America's quest for equality from the early national period through the twentieth century. Content includes the work of abolitionists in the first half of the nineteenth century, depictions of the long journey...
National Women's Hall of Fame
National Women's Hall of Fame: Mary Ann Shadd Cary
The National Women's Hall of Fame provides a brief biography of Mary Ann Shadd Cary, an educator, abolitionist, editor, attorney, and feminist of the Civil War era.
Curated OER
Buffalo Soldiers & Indian Wars
Site contains information about the Buffalo Soldiers, the first professional Black Soldiers, during the time of the Civil War and the Indian Wars.
Curated OER
Buffalo Soldiers & Indian Wars
Site contains information about the Buffalo Soldiers, the first professional Black Soldiers, during the time of the Civil War and the Indian Wars.
Curated OER
Wikipedia: National Historic Landmarks in Tennessee: Fort Pillow
The Confederate victory at the Battle of Fort Pillow (April 1864) ended in the killing of 229 Black Union soldiers out of 262 engaged in the battle. This slaughter by the Southern troops under Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest has been labeled...
Curated OER
Introduction
This site explores Black America's quest for equality from the early national period through the twentieth century. Content includes the work of abolitionists in the first half of the nineteenth century, depictions of the long journey...
Curated OER
Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Clip Art Etc: Albert Sidney Johnston
(1803-1862) American soldier who fought in the Black Hawk War, the war for Texan independence, the Mexican War, and was killed at Shiloh in the Civil War where he was fighting for the Confederate army, commanding the forces in the west.