Eugene Bullard: The First Black Soldier

In the movie, Glory, Edward Zwick tells the story of the first African American Union regiment, the Massachusetts 54th Regiment, while displaying the hardships they had to face. Colonel Robert Shaw, the leader of the regiment, was faced with the task of training and leading the men into battle. Throughout the movie, disunity is shown between the regiment and their superiors, other white soldiers and even with themselves. Three scenes that depicted the change from disunity to unity was when the officers tore up their paychecks, when Thomas saved Tripp and when all of the soldiers cheered on the 54th Regiment as they were marching into battle. Although the regiment faced adversity, the unity of the Union’s army was shown in three scenes that

Eugene Bullard served in the French Foreign Legion from 1914 to 1919.he also served in 1940. He was a machine gunner; Bullard was in a battle on the Somme front in Picardy, during May and June of 1915 at Artois. Also in the fall that same year Eugene Bullard took

War, the Ultimate Proving Ground: The black troops persevered in the face of hardship, prejudice, and discrimination. They fought in spite of atrocious treatment and in the face of bitter challenges, believing they could make a difference.

"No officer in this regiment now doubts that the key to the successful prosecution of this war

Before WORLD WAR I, military service represented a source of black pride. Black educators, clergymen, and the press frequently referred to Negro heroes of America’s past wars. After the Civil War, the U.S, Army maintained four regular Negro regiments –the 9th and 10th Calvary and the 24th and 25th Infantry. These units included veterans of the civil war and the frontier Indian fighting regiments. Retired sergeants often became respected, conservative leaders in their communities. This history set a foundation for black support and involvement in America’s future wars.

The foundation for black participation in the Civil War began more than a hundred years before the outbreak of the war. Blacks in America had been in bondage since early colonial times. In 1776, when Jefferson proclaimed mankind 's inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the institution of slavery had become firmly established in America. Blacks worked in the tobacco fields of Virginia, in the rice fields of South Carolina, and toiled in small farms and shops in the North. Foner and Mahoney report in A House Divided, America in the Age of Lincoln that, "In 1776, slaves composed forty percent of the population of the colonies from Maryland south to Georgia, but well below ten percent in the colonies to the

Have you ever fought for something you believed in? There was a war where many states that were fighting for their rights and what they believed in. They all had different opinions, but many states fought together to become stronger. Texans fought in the Civil War because their love for Texas and their family, for states’ rights, and to protect the slaves.

The Providence Journal declared on August 28, 1863, “the appearance of three hundred muskets in our streets in the hands of as many sturdy stalwart Black men was a novel sight in Providence … There are many excellent soldiers in these companies and they are trusty and faithful men.” At the beginning of the Civil War, African Americans were prohibited from enlisting in the United States military. In 1792, Congress ratified a federal law, which banned all African Americans from military duty. However, on January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln passed issued the Emancipation Proclamation. This decree freed all slaves from states that were engaged in the Civil War. It officially allowed African Americans to enroll in the Union Army and the

Black soldiers played a significant role during the Civil War, and their contributions, on and off the battlefield, eventually facilitated a Union victory over the Confederate troops.

For many African Americans, the war offered an opportunity to get out of the cycle of crushing rural poverty. Black joined the military in large numbers, escaping a decade of Depression and tenant farming in the South and Midwest. Yet, like the rest of America in the 1940s, the armed forces were segregated. The Army accepted black enlistees but created separate black infantry regiments and assigned white commanders to them. Of the more than 2.5 million African Americans who registered for the draft in WWII, about 900,000 served in the Army. But about only 50,000 African Americans were allowed to serve in combat.

Many people believe that The Civil War is just history, but we are actually still fighting with the political and social issues that people at that time faced. Abraham Lincoln used The Emancipation Proclamation to free all slaves in confederate territory, yet thought “that the only solution [to end slavery] would be a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery.” (pg.368, The Americans) Therefore, the Thirteenth Amendment was born and although slavery has gotten better politically, there are still problems with equal rights and discrimination towards people of color. The stigma towards people of color is evident in the world currently, but also while broadening the topic, equal rights for all genders, races, religions, etc, still need improvement

About 180,000 African American people comprised 163 units that served in the Union Army, during the time of the Civil War, and many more African American people had served in the Union Navy. Both the free African-Americans and the runaway slaves had joined the fight. On the date of July 17, in the year of 1862, the U. S. Congress had passed two very important acts that would allow the enlistment of many African Americans, but the official enrollment had occurred only after the September, 1862, issuance of the, Emancipation Proclamation. In general, most white soldiers and officers, had believed that most of the black men, who had served in the Civil War, lacked the courage, and the will to fight

It was a tempest-tossed night, on the Ohio River, in the year 1886. There was an African-American soldier out riding wildly into the night. He rode and rode until dawn, bearing, a message that was important. He knew that, but why, he knew not. Riding, riding, riding, on into the night, bearing a message fro Count Abercrombie to dear Madame Lockley. It was a wild night and the winds rushed into battle with the clouds, and rain fell like blood dripping from an envelope.

With the various ways slavery was spread throughout the geography of the United States, these variations formed different cultures and conflicting laws on slavery. Due to inconsistent systems of slavery, it resulted in the Civil War, dividing the North and the South over the issues of slavery. In the end of the Civil War, many individuals with every sense of positive intentions gave opportunities and support to freed slaves developing into beneficial members for the nation. The United States came together as a nation to solve the issues of slavery, freedom, and the reorganization problems particular to African Americans. It is seen throughout our history all efforts to solve these issues but sadly African Americans still face many of the these problems today. These problems and issues of the 20th century needed to be solved by the leadership of African Americans, for their African American community. W.E.B Du Bois is a tremendous example of an African American leader for what was best for the United States at that time.

Nathan Bedford Forrest was a very influential leader during the Civil War and African-American movement. Lincoln came to power during the time around the Civil War and guided the events that took place during that time as well. However, Lincoln had more influence over the Union because of his leadership and position as president. Lincoln's position as president gave him more power that Forrest would never have. Though they both had strong qualities that made them successful during that era, Lincoln’s surpassed them all. Considering each man's background, coming from a humble family and both without an education, they became very successful and motivational symbols to the citizens at the time. Individually, they encouraged unity and progression in the growth of the American society.