This is interesting. I thought that the use of black troops by the Confederacy was a controversial concept that was never carried forward until early 1865, primarily because it involved breaking the age-old taboo of placing firearms into the hands of slaves. It was only when the outlook was bleakest for Davis and the South that the idea was given approval. Is it possible that those referred to as "black confederate troops" who served earlier in the war were in actuality cooks, manservants, family retainers, etc?

Because of a wrong date setting on a Mudcat server, this message appears out of order. It was actually posted on 6-May, not 5-May. --JoeClone, 7-May-02.