Fourth-Grader’s Parent Carol Sheriff Professor William & Mary: Black Confederates “Error”

Black Confederates? One Fourth Grader’s Parent, Carol Sheriff, a history professor at William & Mary didn’t seem to think so. The history textbook claimed that thousands of blacks “fought” for the Confederacy. Had it said “served” the Confederacy, she would of had no issue. Her point of contention: while some Black Confederate battalions were formed, very few saw action. Her criticism would be that the Confederacy hesitated to put the Black soldiers on the frontlines, where they could be killed. This is as opposed to the Union who openly put them on the frontlines and in harm’s way, albeit in a discriminatory fashion: Black Union soldiers had lower pay and one in five blacks serving in the Union army died. Even after the end of the war, Blacks were not permitted (by Sherman’s order) to march in the great victory parade through Washington, DC.

A common misconception of the Confederate army was that they were less inclusive than the Yankees. Slavery was prevalent on both sides of the war, and history paints a different picture. Native Americans for example, were encouraged to join the Confederacy, whereas discouraged in the North. The majority of Native Americans had resentment against a federal government they thought was genocidal, as the US had forced them from their homes in the “Trail of Tears” to Oklahoma, and those still angry, sided with the Confederacy who even promised them a permanent representative in the Confederate Congress.

But in a more stark example, Jewish people in America may be surprised to find out that they are five times more likely to be descended from a Confederate than a Union soldier. The Confederacy had over 10,000 Jewish soldiers and even gave the top position in their only cabinet, Secretary of State, to Judah P. Benjamin, a Jewish Confederate. The Union army on the other hand, discriminated against Jewish people and no Jewish person ever got a position in a Union cabinet until 50 years after the war. Only 2,000 Jews managed to enlist in the Union army, despite the North having a larger population, and even then, most of them attempted to hide their Jewish ancestry to avoid discrimination, whereas Confederate Jews proudly displayed it, and were promoted to officer positions regularly.