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Politically Incorrect – Black Confederates The courageous Black soldiers who served in the Federal army in various units have been much publicized and praised but their fellow Black soldiers who fought for the Confederacy have been almost totally ignored. In actual fact, Black Americans marched to war with the Southern armies from the very beginning in early 1861. In contrast, the Federal government refused to allow Black men to serve in its ranks until well into the conflict. Until late in the war, Blacks received lower pay than white soldiers. Throughout the war they were regularly cheated of their enlistment bonuses by unscrupulous Northern recruiting agents. It wasn't until 1863 that the North began using Black troops in any large numbers, and only after considerable opposition. The 1860 Federal census counted 3,953,761 slaves throughout the South, not including 240,747 free Negroes, 15,000 more than lived in the free states of the North. While thousands of free Black men were accepted into the Confederate army, the question of allowing slaves to enlist was another matter. It should be noted that in almost every instance where a slave served loyally beside his master in combat there was a longstanding close relationship between the two. Slave and master had often grown up together and the emotional ties between the two were strong. One particular Black cook who also fought on the front lines was given his freedom as a reward for his bravery but still continued to follow his former owner. In June 1861, Tennessee became the first Southern state to use Black soldiers. The governor was authorized to enroll those between the ages of fifteen and fifty, to be paid $18 a month and issued the same rations and clothing as white soldiers. In the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederacy General Nathan Bedford Forrest took 42 of his own slaves into the military service with him assigning them as his personal bodyguards in his escort company. He told them that if the North won they would be freed and if the South won he would free them anyway. They became his “Special Forces.” These men were known as the best soldiers in his command. The company varied in size from 40 to 90 men, and was the elite unit in his cavalry brigade. In Missouri General John Sappington Marmaduke also used his slaves as his personal bodyguard during his many raids throughout Missouri fighting against the Yankee invaders and occupiers. General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson had two brigades consisting of 3,000 free Black men as soldiers. They were all armed with rifles, muskets, sabers, bowie-knives and dirks, proving them to be an integral part of the Southern army. This caused the great Northern Black Abolitionist orator Frederick Douglas to admit,“There are at the present moment many Colored men in the Confederate Army doing duty not only as cooks, servants and laborers, but real soldiers, having musket on their shoulders, and bullets in their pockets, ready to shoot down any loyal troops and do all that soldiers may do to destroy the Federal government and build up that of the rebels.” Along the Missouri-Kansas border guerrilla chieftain Colonel William Clarke Quantrill enlisted many Black men into his command. One former slave, Henry Wilson, served in Quantrill's company as a cook and also served as Quantrill's bodyguard. Wilson claimed that he ran for miles to escape capture by the Federal Kansas Jayhawkers in order to join Quantrill. Wilson said he took an oath to Quantrill that he would stick to the end and said that Quantrill trusted him because he didn’t drink and that he was dependable and could shoot. His owner was John Warren Wilson Sr. who freed Henry before the hostilities began. Wilson survived the war and attended the Quantrill reunions in Independence, Missouri following the war. Another free Black man and former slave that served Quantrill as his hostler and spy besides fighting in the ranks during the battles of Lamar, the First Battle of Independence, Baxter Springs, and Cane Hill and Prairie Grove in Arkansas, was John T. Noland. Noland's owner was Asbury Noland who freed him prior to the war starting. Federal officers once offered Noland $10,000 to betray Quantrill and his men but Noland only replied with scorn. During the battle of Lamar on November 5, 1862, Noland was most conspicuous during the battle by shouting out orders in an attempt to get the enemy to surrender. On August 11, 1862 during the 1st Battle of Independence Noland and four other volunteers crawled more than two hundred yards under heavy Federal fire in order to reach a stable to gather up armfuls of straw to stuff into dry-goods boxes to be set on fire and placed under the eaves of the Union Headquarter's building in order to force the Yankees to surrender. Noland's most notable service was when he was sent to reconnoiter the town of Lawrence, Kansas prior to the August 1863 raid to determine the number of soldiers quartered in the town. Noland attended the Quantrill reunions after the war being described as “a man among men.” At Noland’s funeral he had all white pallbearers. His gravestone in Woodlawn Cemetery in Independence denotes his service with Quantrill as a scout. Another free black man who served under Quantrill was John Lobb. Lobb was also a former slave that served with Quantrill as a spy. Quantrill sent Lobb into Lawrence to gather intelligence information prior to the raid. Lobb is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Independence, Missouri beside his former compatriots. Another Black man that served Quantrill during the war was Frank Noland. Noland was for a time a cook in the Confederate army but returned home to serve as a cook in Quantrill's company. Noland attended the Quantrill reunions after the war. Whenever in camp Quantrill had his own personal cook, former slave Zack Rube. Besides these men there was Jack Swartz, a mix-breed Black man that rode with Quantrill on the Lawrence raid when he was only 16 years old. Swartz was said to have carried Quantrill’s “Black Flag” during the raid and after the war his dying wish was to be buried with the flag serving as his shroud. All during the war Black men, slaves, former slaves and free Black men were serving with distinction in the Confederate army all over the South. On February 18, 1865 the Confederate Congress finally authorized the enlistment of Southern slaves “to provide additional forces to repel invasion maintain the rightful possession of the Confederate States, secure their independence and preserve their institutions.” The Southern army accepted Black soldiers as equals. By order of March 23, 1865 Black Confederates were to receive the same ration, clothing and compensation as allowed other troops in the same branch of service. It was a war of hardships and comradeship. In 1913, 50 years after the bloody Battle of Gettysburg, Confederate veterans did not forget. Thousands of surviving members of the rival armies met once more at the little Pennsylvania town, this time in friendship. The reunion commission in charge of housing had provided accommodations for the Black Union veterans. However, they were completely surprised when Black Confederates showed up as well. The unexpected Black Southerners were given straw pallets in the main tent of the compound. For their former comrades this was an indignity they could not tolerate. The white veterans led the Black veterans back to their own camp assigning them one of their tents with the same accommodations and seeing to their every need. In peace, as in war, all men are equal. Article by Paul R. Petersen – Author of Quantrill of Missouri, Quantrill in Texas and Quantrill at Lawrence. Ref: CanteyMyersCollections.com  
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