African+American+Soldiers

= African American Soldiers in the War  = African Americans fought on both sides of the Civil War. Many slaves went into battle with their masters and fought for the Confederacy. Theodore Quattlebaum, a Confederate soldier from Lexington brought his servant along when he fought. When he died, the servant buried him and returned to South Carolina to later lead family members to the grave.

Other African Americans, after the Emancipation Proclamation, joined the Union Army once they were free.

The 1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment, made up of freed slaves, was the first ﻿Union Army regiment of African American soldiers in the Civil War.

Another famous African American regiment was the Massachussett's 54th Regiment. It was started in March of 1863. The regiment led an assault on Fort Wagner near Charleston, South Carolina. Almost half the regiment was killed, wounded or captured. Sergeant William Carney of New Bedford became the first black to earn the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award. They eventually helped capture Fort Wagner. They fought in Honey Hill, South Carolina; and at Boykin's Mills, South Carolina. Almost 180,000 African Americans served in the Union Army and navy. Many died from battle wounds and from disease.



Source: [] Riley, Louise. Sherman's Army Marches into South Carolina and Lexington County February 1865.2010.

Credit: Riley, Louise J. __Sherman's Army Marches into South Carolina and Lexington County February 1865__. 2010.