1864

The Black Draft. Punch, Volume 47, November 19, 1864, p. 209

Tenniel and his Punch colleagues can at times be charged with bias against non-British (and non-white) peoples, and often seem guilty of jumping to conclusions based on incomplete information. Few of their cartoons, however, are as egregiously inaccurate as this one, which suggests that African Americans were drafted as "cannon fodder" by both sides in the American Civil War. The scene shows Presidents Lincoln and Davis forcing their respective conscripts to swallow vile-tasting medicinal doses ("black-draft" was actually the name given to a nostrum commonly used as a purgative, or laxative). Lincoln holds a pistol to the head of the Northern draftee, whose kepi with its exaggerated plume mocks his grimace of apprehension. Davis wields a slave whip to threaten his chosen victim, whose knock-kneed stance underscores his lack of martial ardor. Neither conscript appears in the least dignified or courageous; their stereotyped "characteristic" portrayal reiterates the common belief [cf. September 26, 1863] that blacks lacked the capacity to be good soldiers.

In actuality, neither Union nor Confederate policies authorized the drafting of black men for combat duty. Early in the contest, the North actually rejected blacks who attempted to volunteer for service. It was 1863, midway through the war -- and in the face of considerable opposition -- before the North began the active recruitment of large numbers of blacks as soldiers. By the close of the war, over 185,000 African-Americans had served in the Union army, most of them in segregated units commanded by white officers. All "Black Yankees" were, at least ostensibly, volunteers (although some regional commanders were accused of using illicit coercion to "recruit" ex-slaves). But whether they were originally free Northerners or "contrabands" escaping from slave states, many black soldiers fought for the Union with notable valor and distinction.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that individual Southern units occasionally included men of mixed race serving under arms, although this was against official regulations for most of the war. With Southern manpower reserves dwindling, the idea of offering manumission to slaves as a reward for Confederate army service was proposed as early as 1863 by a few military leaders, such as the forward-looking Major General Patrick Cleburne. Most Southerners, however, were not prepared to accept such a radical shift in social relationships. Confederate legislator (and slaveowner) Howell Cobb of Georgia doubtless spoke for the majority when he stated: "If slaves will make good soldiers, our whole theory of slavery is wrong."

In February of 1864 the Confederate Congress passed an act authorizing the conscription of black men (slave or free) for service with military units in non-combat capacities, such as work upon fortifications, or "in government works for the production or preparation of materials of war, or in military hospitals." Through its last, desperate months, at the urging of commanders including Robert E. Lee himself, the Confederate government considered authorizing the use of black volunteers as combat troops. Finally, after acrimonious debate, such a measure was narrowly adopted on March 13, 1865 -- too late to have any effect on the outcome of the war. The few units of Southern black soldiers recruited under this law were evacuated from Richmond with Lee after the fall of Petersburg, and surrendered with the remnants of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox.