Extraordinary
| Bravery Unsurpassed |
Freedom is a term often used very loosely. You can hear freedom being the key
factor for many major international movements, conflicts, and wars. Freedom has
become the clarion call for all the acts of justice prescribed by political leaders.
But if we want to find the true meaning of freedom. We must look to those who
lived without freedom. In order to find true "freedom fighters", we must look back
at those who risked a great deal for the freedom of themselves and others.
On May 22, 1863, 1250 former slaves from Louisiana and Mississippi were
mustered into the Union army. They were stationed at a fort called Milliken's Bend.
Previously, these men were known as "contraband"; slaves who had been taken
from the Confederacy as "spoils of war". They had no previous military training,
having just recently been in a state of bondage. Sixteen days later these men and
160 other white Union soldiers, would be attacked by four Rebel regiments of
Texans. The undertrained, underarmed (one regiment of black soldiers received
their muskets a day prior to the attack; many others had faultily constructed
"Australian Rifles") black soldiers of the Ninth Louisiana, the Eleventh Louisiana,
and the First Mississippi would stand strong against a more experienced and
better trained detachment of Confederate soldiers. Due to the lack of training, the
Union soldiers could not push back the Rebels with gunfire. So very quickly after
the attack began, a hand to hand battle ensued.
Throughout the early morning deadly encounter, these former slaves refused to
give up. They fought "tooth and nail"; "bayonet to bayonet"; holding on well beyond
the enemy's expected plans of victory and far beyond the nation's expectations of
their potential. The battle that was fought was one of the bloodiest encounters
during the Civil War. The Confederates hoped to take the fort by 8am. It was
around 12 noon when the Federal naval ship Choctaw arrived and fired its guns in
the midst of the enemy (striking friendly soldiers as well), forcing the attacking
Confederate army to retreat.
The black men who fought in this battle were praised for their bravery. They
proved wrong the many who believed they would not and could not fight. These
men used extraordinary determination, extraordinary resolve, extraordinary effort,
and extraordinary courage to be the victors on that day. Their longing for freedom
and their fight for freedom allow them to be called true "freedom fighters".
AG
References
Quarles, Benjamin The Negro in the Civil War, Little, Brown and Company,
Boston, 1953
Trudeau, Noah Andre Like Men of War: Black Troops in the Civil War
1862-1865, Castle Books, New Jersey, 1998
factor for many major international movements, conflicts, and wars. Freedom has
become the clarion call for all the acts of justice prescribed by political leaders.
But if we want to find the true meaning of freedom. We must look to those who
lived without freedom. In order to find true "freedom fighters", we must look back
at those who risked a great deal for the freedom of themselves and others.
On May 22, 1863, 1250 former slaves from Louisiana and Mississippi were
mustered into the Union army. They were stationed at a fort called Milliken's Bend.
Previously, these men were known as "contraband"; slaves who had been taken
from the Confederacy as "spoils of war". They had no previous military training,
having just recently been in a state of bondage. Sixteen days later these men and
160 other white Union soldiers, would be attacked by four Rebel regiments of
Texans. The undertrained, underarmed (one regiment of black soldiers received
their muskets a day prior to the attack; many others had faultily constructed
"Australian Rifles") black soldiers of the Ninth Louisiana, the Eleventh Louisiana,
and the First Mississippi would stand strong against a more experienced and
better trained detachment of Confederate soldiers. Due to the lack of training, the
Union soldiers could not push back the Rebels with gunfire. So very quickly after
the attack began, a hand to hand battle ensued.
Throughout the early morning deadly encounter, these former slaves refused to
give up. They fought "tooth and nail"; "bayonet to bayonet"; holding on well beyond
the enemy's expected plans of victory and far beyond the nation's expectations of
their potential. The battle that was fought was one of the bloodiest encounters
during the Civil War. The Confederates hoped to take the fort by 8am. It was
around 12 noon when the Federal naval ship Choctaw arrived and fired its guns in
the midst of the enemy (striking friendly soldiers as well), forcing the attacking
Confederate army to retreat.
The black men who fought in this battle were praised for their bravery. They
proved wrong the many who believed they would not and could not fight. These
men used extraordinary determination, extraordinary resolve, extraordinary effort,
and extraordinary courage to be the victors on that day. Their longing for freedom
and their fight for freedom allow them to be called true "freedom fighters".
AG
References
Quarles, Benjamin The Negro in the Civil War, Little, Brown and Company,
Boston, 1953
Trudeau, Noah Andre Like Men of War: Black Troops in the Civil War
1862-1865, Castle Books, New Jersey, 1998