What is the Big Fuss About Black Confederate Soldiers?

lurid

First Sergeant
Joined
Jan 3, 2019
I keep reading about Black Confederate soldiers by one group that swears by their existence and by another group that swears by their non-existence. I'm just wondering what these two groups are trying to prove with their assertions? If there were Black Confederates what exactly does that prove? If there were not any black Confederates what does that prove? Does proving that there were black Confederates absolve the Confederates from wanting to sustain and spread slavery? I would say, not even close. Does proving that there were no Black Confederate soldiers prove anything? I would say, not even close.

There were 4 million slaves in 1860 and I read somewhere that the Confederates enlisted 50,000 black troops, but let's pretend that there were 100,000 black Confederates. 100,000 of 4 million equates to 2.5%. 2.5% of slaves were Confederates, but the other 97.5% were left in slavery. Those numbers do not make dent in slavery, so what is the point? Historian Rodger McGrath stated that there were more than a quarter-million free blacks in the south and nearly 4,000 of them were slave masters and owned slaves, owned more than 20,000 black slaves. If McGrath is an accurate historian his assertions have to corroborate that there were indeed Confederate soldiers. But is there any proof that they were combat troops, or were they just part of the war effort? Is there any record of Confederate combat troops? Did any Union soldiers claim that he fought against Confederate black troops? Nevertheless, what does proving that there were Confederate troops even prove?

If there were 2.5% blacks who were enlisted(I don't know the actual percentage) that still leaves the majority of blacks in the south enslaved. The people who are so eagerly to prove the existence of black Confederates are proving what exactly? I know they are not disproving the Confederates Kung Fu Grip on sustaining and spreading slavery. History tells us the Africans sold other Africans to the Europeans and Arabs, which they were placed in servitude, but the majority of blacks slaves stayed in Africa under bondage from other blacks. Blacks sold out blacks because of of self-preservation and other reasons, but slavery still existed. Therefore, these so-called Confederate troops could have opted out of slavery to join the Confederates out of self-preservation or other reasons, but that still left the majority of blacks in the south in servitude.

Again, what are the Confederate soldier advocates trying to prove? What are the Confederate naysayers trying to prove? I personally believe there could have been free blacks along with Confederate soldiers, but so what, and that doesn't prove anything pertaining to slavery.
 
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