Black Soldiers’ Struggle for Recognition and Equal Pay

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Main body
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Black soldiers were not treated equally with white soldiers during wartime, and this unequal treatment was blatantly apparent in the wages they were paid during the war (Chrysathis 143). It is true that the salaries of black soldiers were not equal to white soldiers and that black soldiers were treated better. This essay evaluates the perspectives of the sources mentioned in two approaches: the historical and sociological aspects. Black soldiers were mistreated in many ways during the civil war, and many of them ended up being depressed.

Main body

The first source is “We Feel as Though Our Country Spurned Us” by David W Blight. It was about the actions taken by soldier James Henry Gooding during the Civil War when he protested unequal pay for black soldiers compared to their white counterparts. The main point is that black soldiers were not paid as well as Blight explains in his book how the Confederate Congress initially refused to pay black soldiers any wages. At this point, he also supports his claim by giving evidence that white soldiers were never paid equally. Gooding petitioned Congress after he found out they were not being paid equally, and Gooding’s petition included a list of allegations.

The second source is “The Price of War: A Letter from Mary Kelly to Sarah Gordon.” This is a letter written by Mary Kelly to the president. This source discusses how as a mother, she was concerned about her son who was fighting for his newly won freedom, in a Union army uniform. Kelly is not concerned for her son’s safety so much as she fears what might happen to him after the war because he fought with the Union army. In addition, this source is significant because it proves that the issue at hand was not just black soldiers fighting for the Union; black soldiers of all sides were fighting for their country. Kelly’s letter highlights a point that is rarely discussed or understood in most history books: the dedication of African-American troops during wartime. In reality, many African Americans fought alongside their Northern counterparts and contributed to the fight for freedom as much as any other soldier; however, they were still denied equal pay and treatment. Historians should not forget the interests of these brave men. Although the “Negro soldier was not without his limitations,” Kelly stated that “his loyalty was beyond question.

The third source, “Mother of a Northern Black Soldier to the President” by Andrew E. Woodbury, is a document of a letter written by Mary Louisa Goodrich to Abraham Lincoln. She was the mother of African American soldier James Thaddeus Goodrich from the 6th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, who fought in the Civil War. She pleaded with Lincoln to pay her son and his comrades for their service in the war for which they were not being paid. She stated that this was unfair and asked him to rectify the situation. She wrote: “While Northern men are exerting every energy, every nerve, to save their government from destruction; you see fit to leave them in the most humiliating condition” (Woodbury).

The fourth source, “Mapping the Spaces of Women’s Civil War History” by Lyde Cullen Sizer, is an essay from the book “Women’s History in Global Perspective.” The essay discusses how the perspective of women’s history in the Civil War has focused primarily on white women and that more research is needed to emphasize the contributions of African American women. From this essay, one learns that there was segregationism between white and black soldiers and that white soldiers were paid more than black soldiers. There is also a reference to Mary Kelly’s letter to Lincoln, which provides evidence of unequal treatment (Chrysathis 75). Mapping suggests that before more research can be done, historians need to define what exactly they mean by “women’s history.” It also gives some suggestions on how to achieve this goal.

The last source is “The Original Southerners: American Indians, the Civil War, and Confederate Memory” by Malinda Maynor Lowery. Lowery discusses how the Confederacy treated American Indians differently than loyal citizens in this source. The Confederate states did not pay American Indians a full salary while they were fighting in some cases and also did not give them a pension afterward. This is clear evidence that black soldiers were being treated unfairly by the Confederacy. Therefore, it is important to see the whole picture instead of just focusing on paying black soldiers. In addition, this source demonstrates the importance of understanding war in terms of race and ethnicity.

Conclusion

In conclusion, from the entire essay, we can denote that the number of documents that support the notion that black soldiers were mistreated is evidence enough that equal treatment and pay should have been given to both white and black soldiers. Many sources prove that equal pay should have already been in place because white and black soldiers fought side by side; however, it is apparent that the South and the North wanted to keep things separated. One crucial point is that although all of this was happening, most African Americans were not fighting solely for the Union but rather for freedom. Many of these brave men fought against slavery. Therefore, it is extremely important to see this issue as more than just an issue with pay but also a matter of human rights.

References

Blight, W David. “We Feel as Though Our Country Spurned Us”: Soldier James Henry Gooding Protests Unequal Pay for Black Soldiers, 1863. Web.

Hall, Ryan. “Chaos and Conquest: The Civil War and Indigenous Crisis on the Upper Missouri, 1861–1865.” The Journal of the Civil War Era, vol. 12 no. 2, 2022, p. 147-172. Project MUSE.

Maynor, Lowery Malinda. “The Original Southerners: American Indians, the Civil War, and Confederate Memory”. Web.

Sizer, Lyde Cullen. “Mapping the Spaces of Women’s Civil War History.” Journal of the Civil War Era, vol. 1, no. 4, 2011, pp. 536–48. JSTOR, Web.

The Price of war: a letter from Mary Kelly to Sarah Gordon, 1862 | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Web.

Woodbury E. Andrew. Mother of a Northern Black Soldier to the President, July 31, 1863. Web.

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