My Military Career

My Association with Uncle Sam

From the time of the earliest permanent settlements in North America to the Civil War, African Americans participated in every major military conflict. Denied military service during peacetime, they were actively recruited at the commencement of hostilities. Blacks responded to these calls-to-arms in large numbers. Many saw military service as a way to improve their own condition. Others enlisted in hope that their participation would prove to whites that African Americans deserved equal rights.

Unfortunately for these men, their honorable and distinctive military service failed to elevate their status or that of other blacks. Instead, their experiences are replete with disappointment and irony. During the Revolution, for example, many African Americans fought for an independence denied to them. Surprisingly, however, the vast majority of black soldiers were not ostracized from whites; instead, they were placed in integrated units, often receiving equal pay. (This integration policy ended with the Civil War, and did not resurface for almost another 100 years.) Without the service of blacks, the American military successes might not have been possible; still, their contributions were quickly forgotten after each war when they were once again excluded from military service — until the next conflict.