1863: The United States Colored Troops Are Established
On May 22, 1863, the War Department issued General Order No. 143, creating the Bureau of Colored Troops.
That order officially opened the door for Black men to serve in organized units during the Civil War. By the end of the war, roughly 179,000 Black soldiers had served in the Union Army, with about 19,000 more serving in the Navy.
But they were not just fighting battles.
They were fighting for freedom, citizenship, dignity, and the right to be seen as men in a nation that had denied their humanity. Many had escaped slavery. Others were free Black men who understood that the outcome of the war would shape the future of their people.
Black Union troops and USCT soldiers faced racism, unequal pay, harsher treatment if captured, and doubts from those who questioned their ability to fight. Still, they showed up.
They fought in major campaigns and battles including Milliken’s Bend, Petersburg, and New Market Heights. Their courage became part of the record.
Their service made one thing impossible to deny… Black men had not waited for freedom to be handed to them. They fought for it.
The creation of the United States Colored Troops was more than a military decision. It was a turning point in American history.
They wore the uniform of a country that had not fully accepted them, and still helped save it.
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