Ex-"Slaves" as U.S. Civil War Soldiers in the Mississippi Valley Campaign

Ex-"Slaves" as U.S. Civil War Soldiers in the Mississippi Valley Campaign. . , In 1863 the United States War Department painted a master stroke with the implementation of the Anaconda Plan which called for blockading of over 3,400 miles of coastline and control of the Mississippi River. The Plan was successful in its mission to divide Confederate troops and successfully cut off access to precious supplies and communications. Following this President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation effective January 1,1863 declaring freedom only to enslaved peoples in rebel states, counties and parishes., With the successful occupation of Memphis and New Orleans, the Union turned its attention to the capture of Vicksburg, the "key" to controlling the Mississippi. A major component of the Union's success in Vicksburg was the use of thousands of able-bodied ex-"slaves" and the engagement of thousands of Negro women, children and older men. Working as soldiers, and in support roles as spies, cooks, blacksmiths, draymen, guides and scouts, the runaway and self-emancipated "slaves" turned the "white man's war" into a war against slavery, showing self-determination, courage, bravery and the capability to fight well in the heat of battle. In the months of April, May and June of 1863, Mississippi and Louisiana U. S. Colored Troops, as officially designated, fought the Confederates fiercely in the Battle of Port Hudson and decisively won in the battles of Donaldsonville and Milliken's Bend of the Vicksburg Campaign., Louisiana furnished 24,000 and Mississippi 18,000 U.S. Colored Troops (USCT) organized into 36 and 11 regiments respectively. In addition, an undetermined number of others served in the Union Navy on rivers and in the Mississippi Valley., For the rest of the war and beyond USCT fought and occupied the south including Natchez, MS. These included the 58th, 70th and 71st Infantries and 6th Heavy Artillery regiments whose main responsibilities were militarily countering Confederate guerrilla actions, emancipating the enslaved and building and maintaining Fort McPherson. Ironically, a company of the 58th USCT Infantry occupied the Forks of the Road area where slavery met freedom.