Confederate Use of Blacks: Personal Relationships

Figure 1.--This is a very rare image for two reasons. First, the individuals and their Civil War experiences are known in detail. Second, the black youth is armed to the teeth and is known to have fought as a soldier. (It is likely that the arms are studio props, we are less sure about the Bowie knives.) The tintype shows Andrew and Silas Chandler, Co. F, 44th Mississippi Infantry. (Silas took the last name of his owner, Andrew's father. In fact estate records do not name the slaves on the Chandler plantation.) They boys grew up together and were close personal friends from boyhood and throughout their lives. When Andrew enlisted, Silas went with him. Andrew was 16 years old and silas 17 years of age. They were both about 17 years old. Plantation records suggest that Abdrew may have been a little older.) At first he was probably ordered by Andrew's father to take care of Andrew, but both became active soldiers, fighting in major battles, including Shiloh and Chickamagua. Silas is one of very few blacks who are know to have fought as a soldier in the Confederate Army, although he was not legally enrolled as a member of their unit. Alexander and Silas were captured and exchanged. Andrew was seriously wounded and Silas made sure he was well cared for. After the War, Silas received a Confederate 'slave' pension. (Years after the War, black Confederates were allowed to apply for slave pensions, although this varied from state to state.) This is probably the most controversial photograph of the Civil War. Both Lost Cause adherents and Condeferate critics debate many aspects of the photograph and history. We are not sure about the source of the information about their personal relationship. Of course slavery contorted all interpersonal relations. But we also believe that two boys growing up together on a plantation whete there were ot a lot of other boys to play with could have developed a close personal friendship.

Very little has been written about black Confederate soldiers. It is virtually the only aspect of the War that has not been addressed in detail, although this has begun to change. After the War the sibject was at first of very little interest to to white southeners. Subsequently the Lost Cause narative found them useful to prove that slaves were happy and content. Northeners, especially blacks, looked on them as Uncle Toms. As best we can tell, the vast majority of Condederate blacks were either brought by officers to act as personal servants or were furnished by their owners to be used in work units. Thus it is not correct to say that they fought 'for' the Conderacy, but it is clear that they fought 'with' the Confederacy. We do not know to what extent these men were asked if they wanted to go or if they were, if there was any realistic way of saying no. And there were various ranges of relationships before the War. Presumably Confederate officers selected trusted individuals. There were thus in many cases bonds of affection. Some of the blacks were only boys. Others were youths and adult men. Like most white soldiers, most probably did not have any idea what war involved. The relationships almost certainly changed once the men joined their units, especially if the blacks becme actually armed soldiers. This was, however, a very rare occurance. We do not know of any slaves enrolled as Condererate soldiers. One expert tells us he only knows of three images like the one here showing an African-American who actually fought with a Confederate combat unit. That is not to say that that larger numbers did not engage in combat. Substantial numbers of slaves were present in the Confederate forces, either as man servants or in work crews used in non-combat roles. When coming under fire it is not hard to imagine that some would have fired back. Actual black Confederate combat soldiers, however, were very rate. Most black Condederates accompanying their masters had a traditional master-slave relationship, but this relationship was highly complex. The relationship between Andrew and Silas is not what one might expect, but Andrew was not an officer and the two were boyhood friends. We suspect that the more one-sided relationship was much more common. Unfortunately we do not have any written accounts from these black Confederates which given the extensive Civil War literary output is a little surprising. Thus we do not know just how they thought about the War and their personal experiences. There were also some African-Americans who appear to have thought of themselves as Southerners. [Barrow, Segars, and Rosenburg] Almost certainly this was a minority, but any history of the complex nature of the Civil War needs to address this fascinating subject.

Sources

Barrow, Charles KellyJ, H. Segars, and R. B. Rosenburg (eds). Black Confederates (Pellican Publishing, 2001), 208p. This fascinating volume contains correspondence, military records, narrative reminiscences, newspaper accounts, and other primary sources. .

Created: 9:11 AM 1/19/2010
Last updated: 1:36 AM 10/14/2011