Blacks have been members of the military for nearly as long as they've been in this country. Documentation is difficult to find, the further back you try to look, but there are at least hints to be found.
http://www.royalprovincial.com/military/... During the Revolution, several Colored units were formed. As might be expected, most of these were formed by the British, with the promise of freedom for any slave who volunteered. There were also volunteers on the side of the revolutionaries, though, with hints of several freedmen who fought at Concord and Lexington. The revolutionary militias were rather progressive, in that Blacks were normally integrated into their local units rather than serving in segregated units; but conversely, the official position in the Continental Army was that Blacks, freed or slave, would not be allowed to serve! We still suffer from these conflicting attitudes.
http://www.womensmemorial.org/BBH1998.ht... During the Civil War, Susie King Taylor was a slave in the region around Ft. Pulaski; and was freed with the rest when Major General Hunter captured the fort for the Union in 1861. She served as nurse, laundress and school teacher until the war ended, but was never paid for her services. (At that time, anyone fulfilling these functions was in a very informal position. Nurses were sometimes members of the Army, but not often. Laundresses were civilian camp followers, paid by piece work. School teachers had no standing, since the children of the Northern troops were all back home.) She did begin receiving a pension in 1866, when her veteran husband died. Blacks served, apparently, on both sides, though the Union used far more of them. Oddly enough, those in Confederate service were mandated to receive the same treatment as their whit comrades, and often served in units with whites; but the Union initially paid only half of the normal salary and threw all kinds of stumbling blocks in the way of having Black regiments actually fight. Not the kind of behavior you'd expect; from either side; but who says people are ever consistent or make good sense?
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