Brass Napoleon Award Black Southerners and the Confederate Cause--What the newspapers said: 1861-1865

[Andersonh1]

The old report about "two negro regiments" in the "rebel" army leads to a typical complaint about all that the black men do for the Confederates, including "building forts and carrying muskets" and shooting down Union soldiers.

The national Republican. (Washington, D.C.) 1860-1862, May 29, 1862

Jack Thomas's race is not mentioned here, but he was listed as black in the census. He was included in this Tribute of Respect to the dead of this Tennessee Cavalry unit.

Thanks to east tennessee roots for the information:

He's a "Free Person of Color" in the 1850 & 1860 census of Polk County, TN.

3. Jack Thomas
United States Census, 1860
Name Jack Thomas
Event Type Census
Event Date 1860
Event Place 5th District, Polk, Tennessee, United States
Gender Male
Age 43
Race Black
Race (Original) Black
Birth Year (Estimated) 1817
Birthplace Georgia
Page 97

The Athens post. (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, May 30, 1862

 

[Andersonh1]

This is a very early call to arm the slaves by a Southern newspaper, a year and two months into the war. They're calling for 10,000 rather than the 200,000 or 300,000 we'll see in 1864.

The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, June 02, 1862

This is a sad example of cruelty on the part of some unnamed government officials, as some free black teamsters deserted the Confederate army and their families were arrested, leading to the deaths of some of the children, with more expected by the newspaper writer.

The national Republican. (Washington, D.C.) 1860-1862, June 03, 1862