The Battle of Port Hudson on May 27, 1863 did not include USCT regiments organized in Pennsylvania, but it was among the first major engagements of the Civil War that involved African American regiments. The Union’s efforts in late May 1863 failed to capture Port Hudson, Louisiana, which in turn led to a siege that ended on July 9 when the Confederates surrendered. Yet even though the initial attack had failed, the African American regiments’ actions during that battle were singled out as particularly noteworthy. Union General Nathaniel P. Banks noted in his official report that “[the men’s] conduct was heroric” and that “no troops could be more determined or more daring.” In one day “they made…three charges upon the batteries of the enemy, suffering very heavy losses, and [held] their positions at nightfall with the other troops,” as Banks explained. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper published Banks’ report along with a poem written by a Philadelphia poet. Some northerners questioned whether USCT regiments would be effective against Confederate forces, but this battle and others provided irrefutable evidence as to how wrong their original assumptions had been. “We may be sure” that those regiments, “after Port Hudson, [will not] be again exposed to sneers or insult,” as a Harper’s Weekly editorial concluded.

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The Battle of Milliken’s Bend on June 7, 1863 was only a small part of the Vicksburg Campaign, but this engagement represented another important moment for African American participation in the Civil War. The three African American regiments, which had just been organized during the previous month, played an important part in the Confederate forces defeat. Victory, however, came at a high cost for those three regiments – almost 8% of the men who participated were killed. Yet as historian Richard Lowe observes, this battle “loom[ed] large in the overall history of the Civil War.” Even Confederates recognized the significance. “The obstinacy with which they fought…open the eyes of the Confederacy to the consequences” of the decision to allow African Americans to fight, as Confederate General John G. Walker recalled. Reports about the battle were published in newspapers across the country. While “at first [they] gave way,” the Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper made sure to note in their short summary that “the colored troops…[saw] their wounded massacred, rallied, and after one of the most deadly encounters in the war, drove the rebels back.” A letter published in Harper’s Weekly offered a similar account: “It was a genuine bayonet charge, a hand-to-hand fight, that has never occurred to any extent during this prolonged conflict.”

This report appeared in the Boston Liberator in August 1863 and described the ceremony for the 3rd USCT regiment that took place at Camp William Penn. Even though this regiment was organized in “a comparatively short time,” the reporter believed that the men “[had] evinced a degree of enthusiasm and discipline that would do credit to older troops.” After a regiment drill “in which every evolution…was characterized by military correctness,” several speakers addressed the crowd. One noted that while “your enemies have said you would not fight,” the USCT “[has] already shown how base was that charge.” Another observed that in “this…war for freedom,” the 3rd USCT regiment “[would be] among the grandest of its soldiers.” You can read the entire article here.

The Noah Heart Papers at Dominican University offer an interesting perspective on the Civil War from a Union officer. Noah, who served with the 10th Michigan Infantry, wrote a number of letters to his wife, Emily, between 1862 and 1865. His regiment took part in several campaigns, including General William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea. While outside Atlanta in August 1864, Noah described one of the problems with his regiment’s supply chain. The 10th Michigan Infantry “lines of communication..are of immense length already,” and as Noah observed, “the farther we penetrate into the enemies country the more they become exposed.” “[If [the Confederates] should cut off our Cracker and Bacon line,” Noah concluded that “we would be in a pretty fix.” This collection also includes Noah’s military records, parts of Noah’s diary, newspaper clippings related to the Hart family (such as Noah’s obituary), and several photographs.

Pennsylvania Civil War Newspapers offers a great collection of historic newspapers published in cities across the state. This editorial from the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin highlights that while those in the USCT were in the US Army, they did not enjoy the same rights and privileges as white soldiers. After a USCT surgeon was “ejected…[from a railway car] while on important public business” in Washington DC, the Evening Bulletin criticized the incident and explained how similar conditions existed in Philadelphia. “In New England all classes ride in the cars just as they mingle together in the same streets,” but in Philadelphia “the front platform of the car is the only place” where African Americans could ride. As a result, “men who have donned the uniform of the country and rallied to the defense of the old flag…[were] exposed to the wet and cold while half-drunken white men..loll upon the cushions inside.” While the Evening Bulletin proposed several solutions, those ideas included the introduction of segregated railcars rather than allow travelers to sit anywhere they wanted.

Editor’s Comments:
This essay was originally prepared for an exhibit co-sponsored by the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg and available online at http://housedivided.dickinson.edu/stoker/

The Port Royal New South (1862-1866) offers an interesting perspective on life in the South Carolina lowcountry during the Civil War. The editors published the first issue of their weekly paper in March 1862, which was several months into the Union’s occupation of Port Royal. While it promised to “abstain from the discussion of exciting political topics,” the paper’s ultimate objective was “to strengthen the hands of the government and those who represent it.” This collection, which is available from the University of South Carolina, requires Adobe Reader in order to view any of the newspapers. A number of other interesting digital projects are also available.

The United States Post Office had an important role in suppressing antislavery material in slave states before the Civil War. Newspapers and books, such as the New York Tribune and Hinton Rowan Helper’s The Impending Crisis of the South (1857), were not always distributed in southern states.The Chicago Press and Tribune, which supported the Republican party, was one of many northern papers that published specific examples. One article from January 1860 is particularly interesting since it described an incident in Delaware, a slave state. The Millord News and Advertiser had complained that their local “Postmaster [had] refused to distribute” the paper. While “[it was] a journal of moderate free State sentiments,” the Chicago Tribune explained that that paper “in no respect…countenance any other than legal and constitutional measures for the gradual removal of slavery from its own State.” Yet apparently even that stance was enough for a ban. When “our boasted free government [was]… in the hands of” Democrats, the Tribune concluded that it was “not less a despotism than the most absolute government of Europe.”

Oberlin College has a great digital exhibit on the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue that took place in September 1858. This event represented an important challenge to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, as residents were successful in their efforts to prevent southerners from returning fugitive slave to slavery. Some of the rescuers were arrested and their trial in 1859 attracted national attention. (Read a more detailed account of this event here). The site offers coverage of both the rescue and the trial from three newspapers – Oberlin Evangelist, Cleveland Daily Herald, and the Boston Liberator. A selection of newspaper articles from across the country are also available. Also check out other documents related to the trial, such as Charles Langston’s speech.

Oberlin College has a number of otherdigital exhibits, such as “Oberlin and Women’s Struggle for Equality” and Oberlin and “Struggle for Black Freedom.”

I’ve pointed out digital newspaper collections before, but those largely featured publications from northern or western states. A great resource for southern papers is available from the University of Richmond’s Digital Initiatives, which has over a thousand issues of the Richmond Daily Dispatch published between 1860-1865. One can learn more about Richmond during the Civil War from an essay written by historian Robert C. Kenzer. The project also provides full text access of related primary sources, such as a diary from someone who lived in Richmond in 1865.