The Negro’s Battle
Bobby L. Lovelett, the author of “The Negro’s Civil War in Tennessee, 1861-1865”, addresses the reality of being a slave in the 17th century and fighting in the Confederacy in Tennessee as a black. Lovelett emphasizes that not only were these men mistreated and looked down upon, but they also played a vital role in the Civil War that no white man can claim for himself. Lovelett shares that most men of white color did not trust the men of color. Generals did not trust them to carry supplies due to the fear that they were rats for the Union. Lovelett states just how important the black man became to the Union. He says, “First, the army began to look upon the use of idea contraband blacks as a way to release white troops for combat duty, and secondly, to hold the strategic area of Tennessee the Union army had to increase its manpower by any means available. Blacks became so important to the army…” (Lovelett, pg 38). Lovelett feels as if the war could not have been won without the help of the African American man in the Union. Blacks were the eyes and ears for the Union. Despite being such great help to both sides of the war, the black man was mistreated and detested among the other soldiers. In the article, a negro was said to have slashed a white farmer to bits for the farmer had …show more content…
The greedy slave masters took the lives of freed slaves and made them their property once again by creating restrictions and not allowing the negro man to bask in his well-deserved freedom. Once again, the black man was dehumanized and basic rights were striped. Lovelett’s powerful closing statement allows the reader to truly reexamine what we know as history by finding out the “real truth of blacks in the Civil War, then we will be able to evaluate better the tragedy of the Reconstruction” (Lovelett, pg