Sec. 2. Findings

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Congress finds the following: Since the colonial era, African Americans have served the United States in times of war. During the Civil War, approximately 200,000 African-American men served in the Union Army and 19,000 African-American men served in the Union Navy. During the Civil War, African-American women were not allowed to formally enlist as soldiers or sailors, though they served as nurses, cooks, spies, and scouts for the Union Army and the Union Navy. While African-American men served in the Navy since its establishment, there was resistance to enlisting them to take up arms for the Union Army at the start of the Civil War.

As the Civil War dragged on, President Lincoln broke from the previous policy of his administration and determined that liberating enslaved persons was a military necessity absolutely essential for the salvation of the Union . The Act entitled An Act to suppress insurrection, to punish treason and rebellion, to seize and confiscate the property of rebels, and for other purposes , approved July 17, 1862 (commonly known as the Second Confiscation Act ) (12 Stat. 589; chapter 195), and the Act of July 17, 1862 (commonly known as the Military Act of 1862 ) (12 Stat. 597; chapter 201), were the first official authorizations to employ African Americans in the Union Army.

It was not until January 1, 1863, the effective date of the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Lincoln, that the Union Army was ordered to receive African-American men. On May 22, 1863, the United States War Department issued General Order Number 143, which established the Bureau of Colored Troops for the recruitment and organization of regiments of the Union Army composed of African-American men, called the United States Colored Troops (referred to in this section as USCT ).

Leaders such as Frederick Douglass encouraged African Americans to enlist to advance the cause of citizenship. Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters, , wrote Douglass. U.S. , let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on [E]arth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship. African-American sailors constituted a significant segment of the Union Navy, making up 20 percent of the total enlisted force of the Navy.

Although there were rank restrictions on African Americans in the Navy before the Civil War, this policy changed after the establishment of the USCT, when the Union Navy started to compete with the Union Army for enlistment of African Americans. Yet, in practice, most African Americans could not advance beyond lowest ranks of boy and landsman. African-American soldiers and sailors served with distinction, honor, and bravery amid racial discrimination and adverse circumstances, including the risk of enslavement and torture if captured.

Eighteen members of the USCT and 8 African-American sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest honor in the United States for bravery in combat. For generations after the Civil War, the contributions of African Americans in the Civil War were excluded from historical memory. Public Law No. 102–412 (106 Stat. 2104) authorized the establishment of a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia to honor African Americans who served with Union forces during the Civil War.

This memorial, featuring a bronze statue of USCT soldiers, an African-American sailor and family, is surrounded by the Wall of Honor, which lists the names of the members of the USCT. The African American Civil War Museum is located in the District of Columbia. Patriots and heroes who rose in service to a Nation that would not fully recognize them, the African Americans who served the Union during the Civil War deserve our recognition for their contributions to the grant of emancipation and citizenship for nearly 4,000,000 enslaved people and the preservation of the Union.

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Pub. L. 102-412

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Sec. 2

Findings

Stat.Chapter CXC

Stat.Chapter CCI

Stat.Public Law 102–411

Pub. L.Pub. L. 102-412

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