| USCT | |
|---|---|
| United States Colored Troops | |
| Active | May 22, 1863 – Oct 1865 |
| Disbanded | October 1865 |
| Allegiance | Union |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | infantry, cavalry, artillery, engineering |
| Size | 175 regiments; 178,000 men |
| Motto(s) | Sic semper tyrannis "Thus always to tyrants" |
| Engagements | American Civil War |
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United States Colored Troops (USCT) were Union Army regiments during the American Civil War that primarily comprised African Americans, with soldiers from other ethnic groups also serving in USCT units. Established in response to a demand for more units from Union Army commanders, USCT regiments, which numbered 175 in total by the end of the war in 1865, constituted about one-tenth of the manpower of the army, according to historian Kelly Mezurek, author of For Their Own Cause: The 27th United States Colored Troops (The Kent State University Press, 2016). "They served in infantry, artillery, and cavalry."[1][2] Approximately 20 percent of USCT soldiers were killed in action or died of disease and other causes, a rate about 35 percent higher than that of white Union troops. Numerous USCT soldiers fought with distinction, with 16 receiving the Medal of Honor. The USCT regiments were precursors to the Buffalo Soldier units which fought in the American Indian Wars.[3]
The courage displayed by colored troops during the Civil War played an important role in African Americans gaining new rights. As Frederick Douglass said in an 1863 speech:
Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters U.S.; let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder, and bullets in his pocket, and there is no power on the earth or under the earth which can deny that he has earned the right of citizenship in the United States.[4]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Fletcher, Marvin. 2019. "For Their Own Cause: The 27th United States Colored Troops By Kelly D. Mezurek", in Indiana Magazine of History, vol. 113, no. 2, pp. 163-65.
- ^ Mezurek, Kelly D. "U.S. Colored Troops as Prisoner Guards" (video), in "Emerging Civil War." Washington, D.C.: C-SPAN, August 4, 2017.
- ^ "Black Soldiers in the U.S. Military During the Civil War". National Archives. August 15, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
- ^ Douglass, Frederick (July 6, 1863). Speech at National Hall, for the Promotion of Colored Enlistments (Speech). Mass meeting held at National Hall, Philadelphia. National Hall, Philadelphia. Retrieved December 7, 2023.