This 50 minute talk was part of a symposium on great defenses of the civil war. This man and his associate professor of history in north kent this woman is the associate investor of history in north canton, ohio. The first book in that series will actually be out this fall. It is called turning point for the american civil war. That will be the theme of our symposium next year. Kelly has done an important part in helping launch that book series. She also has a fantastic look of her own. Aside from this nifty collection of letters, it is called for their own cause the United States colored troops. I really encourage you to take a look for her book tonight, it is a fantastic story, and it is about black troops, but they are people, just like us, who decided they need to do their part to defend their liberties, to defend their home, their country. Spinally puts a fantastic on that notion, of what really does make a great defense. So without further do, i present my friend and colleague, telling the zurich. Mezurek. [applause] thank you for coming this evening, and thank you for putting together this wonderful program. Im looking forward to the three days we have together, and i would like to second your comment. Thank you to the staff and people at this wonderful place. I got to sit outside on the porch earlier today, and it is absolutely beautiful. So we are very lucky to be here this weekend. I went in again on how i came to this subject. I was in the early stages of doing some research on a project. I wanted to look at the recruiting practices for the United States colored troops. Thatwere the black men fought for the union during the civil war. Of colored troops is created in may of 1863 under the war department, and it was their responsibility to oversee the recruitment of these regiments, as well as to some of the rules that applied to them. These were federally designated regiments. They were segregated. They had white officers, with a theexceptions, and when union began accepting black men into the union armies, they were paid less than white soldiers. This was corrected in the summer of 1864. Throughout the war, they experienced often unequal treatment. Served in the men United States colored troops. That is 10 of the union army. He served in infantry, artillery, and calvary. One of the sources i looked at when i was wanting to pursue this project on the recruitment of these men was the official records. Most of you are familiar with the official records 128 volumes , of confederate and union documents. After those were published, several decades or more, janet hewitt and her team put together another 100 volumes, the supplement to the official records. In those 100 volumes are the record of events for the union regiment. So the record of events were a compilation of the monthly reports that were sent in by the officers. What i did is i read over 160 regiments regiments record of events, looking for recruitment information. I found many references to black soldiers capturing confederate soldiers. Black soldiers accompanying them , pows on their way to prison. And regiments of black troops serving as Prison Guards and union prisons. I wondered why i had not read very much about this, and thought this was a pretty big deal. I threw the recruitment project under the bus and switched to this and found it quite fascinating. I hope you will find it interesting as well. I also want to say that part of what i am sharing today is coming out in an essay, in a book, civil war prisons ii from Kent State University press. On april 8, 1865, ch richardson of the 26 massachusetts wrote to his mother that they remained under marching orders until lees army was disposed of in some way. He asked how the people at home that theling the news union one. How excited were they . He went on to chastise the northern democrats, especially copperheads that had not been so supportive during the war. He returned to the southerners glorious,d isnt it most too good to talk or even think about prison, filled with rebel soldiers and dark is on es on over them darki guard over them. He went on to conclude, they are without supplies, a government, and without a cause. I would argue this decision to use black guards is important, since it helped shaped the cause in the decades that followed the war. But it served as an impetus for the confederate soldiers to fight harder. It affected the prisonerprison guard exchange breakdown, and it affected the potential for positive postwar relations. He story today, in including including black guards ands prison as prisoners of war help us to understand the degree of compliance with the code, this idea of humiliation. The union decided to use the United States colored troops as guards and sentinels for multiple reasons. What is important to come away with this was dependent upon the , circumstances at the time, the immediate wartime needs. And why this really matters is that many prison studies that look at Prison Guards tend to characterize those men placed as guards, following the line of the first and most wellknown studies of prisons by academics, in which he portrayed Prison Guards as secondrate soldiers that throughout the war, the union decided if you took these men who were not battle ready, that were somehow not as strong or as able to train and remove those from the battlefield and put those in the prisons, you would take your stronger and more quality soldiers and place them on the field. One might assume, that is why they chose these black troops. In the mid19th century, most people didnt believe black men were not talented enough to fight, they were not brave enough to fight. They would be a disadvantage on the field. But that is not the case. That is not why they are being used during the war. I think it is really important to start to maybe question why other guards were also used. In the end confederate prisoners , had their own idea about why these men were there. They repeated this idea of the humiliation that the use of these guards had over them in a much repeated phrase. The bottom rail is on top now. The first group that was used was the second louisiana native guard, not only the first to serve in a prison, ship island in mississippi, but they served for the longest time from , january 1863 to june of 1865. Important location for the union. It serves as the end of the mississippi on the gulf, as kind of a protection for the blockade. It was also a refueling station. But the conditions on ship island were very drastic and very difficult, and many believe that is the reason that general Nathaniel Banks decided to send the second louisiana native guard there, that it was a favor unfavorable, unpleasant duty for white soldiers. So he would send these black troops instead. Banks had just replaced butler in the department of the gulf, and he did not have the same opinion of black soldiers that Benjamin Butler had. So one of the reasons that he is going to choose them, other than the bad conditions had to , do with his idea that black soldiers were a source of constant embarrassment and annoyance. Another reason was that after lincoln released the emancipation proclamation, many people, especially in the area orleans,ks was in new were afraid of a slave insurrection. So removing them from this close contact with white citizens i sending them to ship island affected his decision. There are also a group of individuals, again, and mid19th century believes, that thought black soldiers could handle the conditions better than whites. But it is important there were just as many people telling banks these men were good and capable soldiers, and they could defend ship island. Over that year and a half. That they are on the island, the reports of them from their own commanders and from lorenzo they were excellent and admirable. Thomas said the regiment was in capital order. In the one instance they have the opportunity to participate in battle, they received high accolades for bravery and performance. Clearly they were not set their because they were not capable. They had the support of their officers. They also have problems with some of the other Commanding Officers at the time. The experiences of black guards at other prisons were similar. They performed their duty well. They had reports they did their due diligence. Those that went into battle performed in a way that was recognized. They also have to do a great deal of fatigue duty around these presents, and they faced harassment from prisoners and other white soldiers that might be on guard. One said, negroes do it well, and are just fitted to do the duty the drudgery of camp. , even after their service as union Prison Guards, they will be a negro still. L myra wasnt a place that a whole regiment served. It was a rendezvous point for new york black men who were drafted. They met there. Some were retained to act as Prison Guards there. Different events led to the use of black guards at Point Lookout in maryland. An ohio newspaper reported that butler have placed a regiment of North Carolina negroes over the rebel prisoners. Richmond authorities refused to exchange captured soldiers from the United States colored troops. The liberator informed readers that butler planned to keep all prisoners held in his department under the guard of colored troops. Point lookout had several regiments, the 36th and fifth massachusetts colored calvary spent the most time there. Butler selected them because he believed they would be good guards. He thought they could take orders better than other soldiers. He believed they were better disciplined. They did what they were told. While this may indicate more of a paternalistic feeling or observation, butler would stick up for the soldiers throughout his time in the war. Newspaper reports pointed out in the north and south the connection between butlers assignment and his retaliatory reactions to the breakdown of Prisoner Exchanges. Secretary of war Edward Stanton authorized butler to act as a special agent in middecember, 1863. Stanton provided specific instructions that butler was to exchange men equally, despite race or rank in the army. Soon after appointment, butler inspected the present had Point Lookout. At Point Lookout. N he began to formulate his ideas about how he might move ahead this Prisoner Exchange. When he tried to negotiate with the commissioner of the Prisoner Exchange for the confederacy, it was problematic. He said the confederacy is not going to recognize butler as an agent of exchange. He reminded Union Officials that Jefferson Davis had declared butler a felon who deserve to be treated as a common enemy of mankind. Jefferson davis had actually ordered for the execution of butler, as reparations for southern citizens. This is an attack on butlers character. This further fueled his commitment to use the Prisoner Exchange to the advantage of the union. He shared his desire for the sternest retaliation with stanton. He really wanted to find a way to force the confederates to comply. One of the things he did was to offer confederate prisoners the opportunity to take an oath of allegiance. Two regiments did this. Some refer to these as the galvanized yankees. Butler thought that was a good tool for trying to encourage the Prison Exchange to get going. Then he heard about the heavy labor that black prisoners were being put under by confederates. He decided he could do the same thing and threatened the confederate officials that if they didnt stop this, he was going to take as many virginians as he could and place them under hard labor. Stanton and grant of approved of this. They thought this was a legitimate decision, especially because it complied with the labor code articles. The best plan for retaliation was placing the colored troops as the prison sentinels. Part of this has to do with he really likes draper, who is commanding the 36th. He is having trouble in North Carolina. Getting draper away from that is part of his plans. He sees this might encourage some of the southern soldiers to either take the oath of support for the union, or encourage confederate officials to get them out as soon as they can, placing them under black guards was considered to be a horror to people in the south. The men that served as guards at Point Lookout served satisfactorily. The reports come back very good. The men themselves, the black soldiers are not really happy. They wanted to be soldiers. We can see this in some of the comments they made. Major Sergeant Christian fleetwood recorded the fourth United States colored troops performed fatigue duty and the men were anxious to return. They wanted to participate in the upcoming offensive. A soldier from the 24th , like watts, described in letters home to his wife that 100 soldiers were needed to service guards for the day, so the rest of the men performed hard work as soon as they got there. Despite the opinions of the white officers and sergeants that they performed well, these men wanted to be on the battlefield. They wanted to have guns in their hands. They wanted to be soldiers. Southerners expressed an almost universal Nathan Bedford forrest another , confederate officer, didnt want slaves to join the union. Those that were in uniform wanted to publish. It was also an attempt to humiliate them for daring to fight against white men. The situation reversed dramatically when southerners found themselves in the hands of the enemy. The loss of freedom or liberty was difficult enough, but the added indignity of lack guards was unfathomable for many prisoners. Some believed Union Officials intentionally sent slaves to guard over former masters. They captured confederate soldiers and their communities of family and friends and suffered intense shame, whether intentional or subconsciously. Union officials used this to their advantage. They understood that humiliation was an emotional state so often generating the impulse to seek revenge for insults. The horrors of prison was bad enough, the lack of food and clothing, or protection from exposure and disease. That was difficult for prisoners north or south. The indignity caused by the presence of the black sentinels which placed a white southern man below the black man was simply too much. It threatened the honor of the man, and the only way to restore that honor would require the redemption and the reversal of the roles of humiliation. The use of these black men as guards provided a subtle advantage for the Prisoner Exchange negotiations. Confederate leaders had to contemplate what the impact of these stories had on the already tenuous support in some southern areas. They had to consider the derogatory effects of humiliation that would push confederate prisoners to sign the oath of allegiance. For southerners, this was a direct violation of article 75 that states that prisoners are to be subjected to no other intentional suffering or indignity beyond the necessary confinement. The events at Morris Island showcase this particularly. In the fall of 1864, Union Officials were very distressed that Union Prisoners were being put around charleston in areas that the union was bombarding and putting them in the direct line of union fire. They retaliated and took 600 confederate officers from Point Lookout and put them under the guard of the 54th massachusetts. Most of you are familiar with this regiment from the movie glory. 54th walkedom the by point of bayonet across for wagner on their way to Morris Island, both prisoners and guards recognized where they were walking. This is where shaw and the other men had tried to attack wagner. That was the first significant action by black troops in the civil war, and it had an impact on northern willingness to enlist black men. This choice of the 54th was not lost. Newspapers spread the story on Morris Island and said, rebel prisoners are under rebel fire, and they are receiving the same treatment as Union Soldiers. Much like the recognition for the regiments actions, a northerner shared report that the guards from the 54th were performing with infidelity and andlance fidelity vigilance worthy of praise. Southern newspaper editors reprinted this story along with accusations of starvation into the indignity of negro servitude. The opportunity to serve in this capacity had to provide some redemption for these soldiers. Their commander wrote to the massachusetts governor, my men are proud of the honor of guarding these rebels, but they do not like to see them start, ved, even instar retaliation. A captain thought his men took great pride in office, but a sergeant wrote to the liberator in august. We have the responsible duty of guarding 600 to the duty. The 108 is a regiment out of kentucky. Mostly slaves. They will spend 10 months at rock island on the mississippi in illinois across from iowa. It is not as clear why they were sent there. Island had several problems. There was a horrible smallpox epidemic that had affected some of the prisoners and guards that had come from the iowa infantry. They had trouble getting supplies. Food was always short. There was really poor sanitation. One decision to send them there may have been because of these conditions, but more probable, second to Point Lookout, rock island sought to get federate confederate prisoners to sign the oath of allegiance. Sending these black guards there was possibly away to get them to do that. Whatever reason these men were sent to guard these prisons, they had very similar experiences as guards at any prison. They were disliked by prisoners. Some prisoners harassed them or ignored them. Beingfference, of course, that the white confederates held in these prisons wrote immediately after the war and sometimes later about the effect this had on them, it was bad enough they werent given enough food or didnt have tents. This was something that northerners and southerners bantered back and forth about in the decades after the war. Who had the worst prisons . These confederates who had black guards have something that had no comparison on the union side. It had longterm implications. The union didnt stop using Prison Guards when the war ended. A new stockade was built in newport to handle the large numbers of paroled southerners. This place had problems from the start. The Union Officials in charge of building it and commanding it were not doing a very good job. Southern prisoners were very unhappy the war was over and they were still being held. Then you brought black soldiers to be there guards their guards. The 122nd United States colored troop. After they heard of the assassination of lincoln, a private from the first virginia artillery wrote in his diary that guards had become more domineering every day, although he failed to connect the incident to the death of lincoln. The virginian reported incidents of guards shooting prisoners. The 122nd had its own problems. They did not have a full command of white officers. They received no training. This is one of the last regiments formed during the civil war. They are not happy to be there. Placed 16th in the order of merit of 18 black regiments at the time. You had poor command by the union, unhappy confederates waiting to go home, and this Inexperienced Group of black soldiers. There were at least three inquiries for soldiers who had shot confederate prisoners. On may 8, the guard used his bayonet on one prisoner without the slightest propagation. A few days later, higher union command realized this was not the best situation and replaced them with the fifth maryland volunteers. Creed davis, one of the prisoners, reported his comrades wished the negro guards were ordered to a very hot place. Combined, men from over a dozen regiments were given orders if necessary to confront confederate prisoners. Events at newport highlight many of the issues most southerners had already begun to consider. A captain at the andersonville stockade admitted they used trained dogs to capture to main prisoners who try escape. One newspaper said our prisoners will have a debt of revenge to pay. This did not and with the war. A confederate veteran who had served time at Point Lookout attacked carl brady, a superintendent because he had suffer dishonor when guarded by the United States colored troop. The humiliation remained with the men in their communities. This explains to us white why southern veterans failed to memorialize their personal experiences as northern men dead after the war. This is magnified when we consider the larger number of men who captured confederate soldiers on the battlefield or capturedt accompanied pows on their way to prison. There was a shorter time with the white prisoners of war. Unlike the guards who may have served months or years, the more southern eyes witnessed this reversal of power structure, for example in may the cleveland , 1864, daily reader reported 300 southerners found their way to portman wrote under the guard of black troops. Another newspaper shared that a large batch of rebel officers taken by general butler and had arrived there under color to guard colored guard. The rebel officers were terribly disgusted. A month later, and agent for the sanitationtes reported a colored guard brought down 700 prisoners from the front. A colonel took a contingency of white and black soldiers. The Union Officers burst into the Plantation House followed by a squad of the rebels on countrymen and brothers from the second mississippi heavy artillery of african descent. Surrendered. Cy the prisoners, each with black guards by their side, began a 66 mile march between the city tchez under black guard. When one of the prisoners asked for white sentinels, the Commanding Officer said, it is right the negroes took you and it is right they should guard you. Prisoners taken are sent to the front, guarded by colored soldiers. The capture is nothing compared to the socalled indignity. To be captured by yankees is bad enough, but to be marched off under the guard of slate is too much for southern chivalry. The black officer saw this disposition and shouted, close up there. We are the boss, now. When an observer said to one of the officers that was better than being shot, one of the confederate prisoners replied, i would rather die. This was particularly galling for former slave owners after fightingg the vicious in 1863. The liberator reported that one great man took his former prisoner and brought him into camp with great gusto. The rebel prisoner made a particular request that his own blacks should be placed over him as a guard. Is capricious. His request was not granted. Their motive war does not entitle them to privileges. Men were brought along from the first South Carolina volunteers, colored. After a skirmish it was reported that among the spoils of war were also to trophies, including were all sorts of trophies, including prisoners. They were marched under negro guard. One of these rascals was guarded by his former slave and looked anything but amiable. A spirit of retribution spread among southern soldiers and civilians. Several newspapers reported that two white confederate officers were murdered while being taken under black guard. This was reported in petersburg. The Union Soldiers that were captured their there confirmed this story. Quote, we hope government may be aroused to some measure of retaliation. An editor explains, what will the confederate government do now . This picture is from the front of a national newspaper. This was red all over during the civil war. Officerss these two that are going to be taken to the rear by a black guard. Guardsea of using black is not just being spread throughout the south. Northerners are hearing this, too. They understand the significance of what this might mean for these two white officers. This fear of applied to southern citizens. The caption of the United StatesSanitary Commission reported, one or two regiments have come to garrison the city. Inhabitants are horrified at the thought of their own arms taken from them and they are to be guarded by armed negroes. Is not this righteous retaliation . Who dreamed our eyes could see these things when Uncle Toms Cabin was written . Among the list of horrors in a march 1864 address in the General Assembly to the soldiers of virginia was a warning that their liberties would perish and that negro guards would arrest you to be tried and punished by negro magistrates. To your wives and children you will be menial laborers and slaves, except those that are sent to the dungeons or galas. You cannot hesitate to choose between slavery or death. A correspondent to the boston journal wrote, the hardest thing to the charleston audience is the presence of charlestonians is the presence of negro soldiers. White or black, man or woman, must meet a colored sentinel, face to face and obtain a colored sergeants permission to enter the gate. It is their duty to maintain law and order. It gave me great satisfaction to see a major in rebel uniform guardhouse by these colored soldiers. He marched with downcast eyes. Their humiliation was amplified when the army continued the use of these guards. In early april, 1865, a richmond correspondent to the Philadelphia Press observed several captors walking to philadelphia prison under the eyes of the u. S. Colored troops. One of the prisoners spotted his former slave. When the confederate said, jack, is that you . The black sentinels face revealed astonishment and disdain for the familiarity of a address. Product, dontr you know me . He responded, i know you very well, and if you do not fall in line, i will give you the banner. Confederate officials found themselves face to face with black guards. Union soldiers occupied the city after the fall of richmond. Command supposedly replaced United States colored troops at the wife of robert e. Lees residence. Black soldiers were replaced with white soldiers. An editor said, it must have been the uniform that affected her nerves. When confederate secretary of the treasury turned himself into union authorities, he was ordered to a charleston jail. White and black guards argued who should have the honor of taking him to the jail cell. When Jefferson Davis was captured, northerners increase their demands for his punishment. They proposed if we can get right, getk going. Somebody come push the button. [laughter] they proposed imprisonment or exile. That they begin to work be doomed to work on public improvements under negro guards. There are many representations of Jefferson Davis being captured, supposedly in Womens Clothing. You can find them in multiple collections. This is the only one i have seen with a black guard over him with the Womens Clothing on. The negro soldier is saying show this lady around. William b johnson of the third United States color troup wrote in july of 1865, the reds seem to die very hard at the idea of having black troops to guard them, but they keep very quiet and do not have much to say. How true is the same that we know not what a day may bring for us . Great changes are being wrought. The events that have unfolded underscore the need to explore postwar Race Relations in the country. I want to start my conclusion with why i think this is important. It is a neglected part of the civil war narrative. I think further study of the significance and impact of the Union Decision to assign black soldiers as needed, first of all for prison studies. We have had a resurgence in the last 10 years in prison studies, and this area has been left out. Investigation offers us a better understanding of the varied experiences of black soldiers who participated in americas defining event. Usually when we read even some of the black regimental history that they made bigger contributions in the back line, where little defensive action occurred. Here is where i think this fits into our theme of great defenders. I recently reread practicing history. Although not a trained historian, which means she could have used this, she has written some of the most readable history on the need for military history. If only we could bring home to the general public that conflict has been a theme in the union human story. She thinks we should include military history in all of our histories. History is part of a whole object. It is what a given society was like at a given time. Certainly the issues of taking prisoner and the potential for soldiers to be captured, and how one determines what and how military decisions are made in ,lanning defensive operations especially after the breakdown of the code. The use of black soldiers in battle and as guards over wightman, literally having the power to determine life and death caused an ever present need for an ideological defense. Were the benefits of arming black men were the consequences worth the consequences . This is a frequent problem in military history, when all this happens as result of a battle. The difficulties in reconstructing the course of events, including it. What impact did newspaper articles on the union use of black guards have over rebel troops have on military decisions . Did it affect southern men in their duties to soldiers . High command in their duties of war . The most recent attention is on the need to further research and analyze the postwar years. An area in which this topic is extremely important for understanding the longterm consequences of humiliation and retribution as it relates to the use of black guards. Should military historians look to defensive actions and the actual events to determine whether they were great or not . Black soldiers refused to offer quarter to rebel pows and southern towns. Thank you. [applause] chris we have the opportunity for questions. This is my first time working a room this big. I ask you to be patient with me. Stand up, introduce yourself, and make sure you have a question. Sometimes folks love to get the microphone and tell us what they know. That is not the purpose. Make sure you have a question tonight. I know kim does. Of all colored troops, what percent of them were guards . Of all guards, what percent were colored troops . Kelly as much as i would like to give you exact numbers, i really started to do that. I wanted to see those numbers. 12 of 162 had a significant had significant amounts of time. I hope that i emphasize that more than the literal Prison Guards, more southerners had a oneonone experiences with the guards that captured them or moved them. I read the record of events because every regiment is having this experience. Compared to the number of black troops, almost 10 of the union army, i think there was significant numbers. I cannot give you numbers. I cannot even give you numbers for white guards. I think someone might have had them at one time. I wanted to approach that number because i think that matters, the percentage. Over 3 million men served in both armies during the war. To be able to say which percentage actually came oneonone might have had some meat to it. It is the newspaper reports, the official reports that reach out and touch most everybody that had access to the newspaper in the north or south. It was the idea of it more than the oneonone i believe have had this impact. I cannot count them all. Chris i think one thing to build off of that you think , about the documentation of how much did not get documented. The first instance of United States colored troops happened in pennsylvania. When rosser gets chased off the field and writes his report, he does not mention them at all. They are written out of events. Kelly sometimes intentionally, because it was humiliating if there was a success, that black troops might perform well. So many reports are lost. Whole records of events for some regiments dont exist. That is for the union and confederacy. The ones that exist overwhelmingly reported on this that there was this experience. It is true that in this area you had the largest contingency around fort monroe between petersburg and richmond of black troops used by the union army. In the west there was some use, and in the louisianamississippi area, there were certainly numbers of them. They were used everywhere. Another question. Im going to take a second to give a shout out to my friend who has done a lot of work with the 23rd United States colored troops. Stand up. [applause] stewarts twin brother. Dave frank from youngstown, ohio. When you hear the black Prison Guards, and the brutal treatment of their fellow soldiers, did affect their treatment did , you run across the idea that they might have brutalized confederate prisoners in retaliation . Of one reportples in the newport news. I did see that. I will generalize numbers. White guards acted in many different ways as humans do. Some to the responsibility seriously and acted with bravery and commitment. Others acted in ways that might not be something you were proud to write home about. Black guards acted in the same ways. There are examples of that anger and hatred. There were calls by some in the black community to retaliate. One example showed the 54th is proud to guard the 600, but they dont like they are being denied food, because they know how the men are getting. There was an example of a soldier who sees his former owner and gives him money so he can buy food in prison. The whole continuum of experiences. Chris another question. I have to get some tennis shoes. I am doug from chesapeake, virginia. Did the government use any black units to occupy the south after the war and after lincolns assassination . Did they disband them immediately after . No, they serve at a higher rate occupationally percentagewise than white soldiers. In part because they entered later in the war. Many Union Soldiers who had joined in 1860 14 1862 were ready to go home, and their officers had more power to make that argument. Black soldiers began officially recruiting in may of 1863. They had not served as long. One of the arguments was they should have to to serve longer because they havent. It is clear this retaliation and humiliation is playing a part of this. Placing those black troops in the occupied south certainly was away to remind southerners they had lost. It caused a lot of trouble. Chris another question. Did black guards attitude toward white confederate prisoners change after the massacre at fort pillow . Kelly the evidence of individuals commenting on it may have changed. I want to go back to my original statement. Like white soldiers, these are human beings. Some did treat the prisoners to an extent with respect as a captured enemy or combatant. Others were vindictive. All examples exist. The evidence of talking about these things increased after the fort pillow of 1864 event. You are just getting a swing of a large number of blacks going into service. It actually helped recruitment if you want into an area and said remember fort pillow. Chris one more question. I am jessica from st. Louis. Did you come across these stories where confederate prisoners developed empathy for the soldiers maybe because they are in the same position . Is trueot sure it empathy. Some of the very later accounts by confederate veterans spoke of how they felt sorry for these black soldiers and the argument was they had been forced into service, to act out of station. And they were being punished for this when it was the white Union Officers, politicians that should be blamed. Any kind of real human empathy it may be out there, but i have , not seen it. Chris ladies and gentlemen, kelly. Kelly thank you. 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