African American Enlistment

African American Enlistment. . President Abraham Lincoln and Congress resisted the enlistment of African Americans into the military during the early stages of the Civil War despite intense pressure from abolitionists. This changed in July 1862, when Congress passed the Second Confiscation Act and the Militia Act, authorizing the president "to receive into the service of the United States... persons of African descent.” Lincoln initially refused this new authority, but, by the fall of 1862, he allowed the creation of African American regiments in Union-occupied South Carolina, Louisiana, and Kansas., The enlistment of African American men expanded to all states, except one, following the Emancipation Proclamation. On January 1, 1863, the Proclamation made the destruction of slavery an explicit war goal and, in May, created the Bureau of Colored Troops. The one exception was Kentucky, because slaves were not freed by the Emancipation Proclamation (which only affected areas out of Union control) and because its political leaders were adamantly against African American enlistment. The enlistment of Kentucky's African American men was finally authorized by the federal government in February 1864, but only for free blacks and enslaved men with their owner's permission., Unrestricted enlistment of enslaved men was not authorized in Kentucky until June 1864. These men were emancipated upon enlistment, thus beginning the destruction of slavery in Kentucky., About 180,000 African American men served in the Union army during the Civil War, with Kentucky providing 23,703, second only to Louisiana, many of which enlisted here at Camp Nelson. African American soldiers, known as U.S. Colored Troops, participated in 449 engagements, including thirty-nine major battles., Captions(left to right): , . "And I further declare and make known that such persons, of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States." , President Abraham Lincoln, Emancipation Proclamation Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division , . United States Colored Troops (U.S.C.T.) in front of their barracks at Camp Nelson. Courtesy of the Kentucky Historical Society , . "Men of Color to Arms. Who would be free themselves must strike a blow." , Frederick Douglass Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Timeline , 1809 Abraham Lincoln born at Sinking Spring farm, in present-day Larue County, Kentucky. , 1816 Lincoln family moved from Kentucky. , 1841 Abraham Lincoln visited his friend Joshua Speed at Farmington, the Speed family plantation, in Louisville, Kentucky. , 1842 Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd of Lexington, Kentucky. , 1847 The Lincoln family visited Lexington, Kentucky, en route to Abraham's only term in Congress. , 1860 Abraham Lincoln elected President of the United States in November. , 1865 Abraham Lincoln assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.