"Soldiers of the Nation"
© Meg Greene Malvasi
Long before Bevins thought to join the service, African Americans had demonstrated their loyalty and patriotism. Never before, though, had the government permitted them formally to enlist in the military. This policy changed during the Civil War, when the United States Army allowed the formation of "colored volunteer" regiments. By the end of the war, nearly 165,000 blacks had worn the blue uniform of the Union army.
In 1866, Congress passed a law enabling African Americans to enlist. Because the military was strictly segregated, the Army created special units for the black soldiers. As in the Civil War, whites commanded these units since black soldiers could attain a rank no higher than that of non-commissioned officer. By 1869 there were four African-American divisions: the 9th and 10th Cavalry regiments and the 24th and 25th Infantry regiments. There were more than 12,500 African-American troops.
Despite sanctioning black enlistments, the Army did little to make the new recruits feel welcome. The Quartermaster Corps armed black infantrymen with old rifles and assigned the most worn-out horses to the African-American cavalry. Blacks' living quarters, such as those assigned to the Tenth Cavalry, were often in areas prone to cold, dampness, and disease. Racism was also rampant throughout the military; white soldiers often refused to have anything to do with their black comrades in arms.
Some white commanders recognized that racial tension and hostility damaged morale, and did what they could to place African-American soldiers on a par with whites. Colonel Benjamin Grierson, for example, objected to the use of the term "colored" to identify the African-American units. "You will not refer to this regiment as the 10th Colored Cavalry," he instructed the men under his command, "but as the 10th Cavalry. Regardless of their colored skins, they are soldiers of the U.S. Army."
Given the official and unofficial prejudice and discrimination they faced, why did so many African Americans enlist? The lure for some was surely the $13-a-month paycheck, which represented more money than most blacks could have earned in any other occupation. Others signed on because the Army promised them an education, while the excitement of going west to seek new adventures or to find better opportunities attracted still more. As one recruit, Charles Creek, stated: "I got tired of looking mules in the face from sunrise to sunset. There must be a better living in this world." His compatriots must have agreed, for African-American units boasted the lowest desertion rate in the entire Army!
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