Joining Up for Freedom - Vicksburg National Military Park - Mississippi Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

This signage is companion to the very moving Mississippi Regiment of African Descent Memorial. The Memorial shows two African American soldiers helping a wounded third. The marker is Titled "Joining up for Freedom" and the text is as follows:

(picture of a black regiment at drill)
These soldiers were among the first formerly enslaved men to join the Union army.

(inset picture of a Recruiting Poster Titled):
Come and Join Us Brothers
By early 1863, white recruits had slowed to a trickle. The Union Army desperately needed more men. Creating black regiments brought an infusion of new soldiers - helping the North keep a numerical advantage over the South, and win the war.

Main text of Marker:

The Union Army became a refuge for formerly enslaved African Americans in 1862. The Second Confiscation Act declared that enslaved people taking refuge behind Union lines would be set free. Across the South, black freedom seekers flocked to the Federals, and worked as laborers, cooks, and teamsters. But many wanted to fight in battle. And fight, they did.

In 1862 and 1863, forward-thinking Union commanders began forming units like the 1st and 3rd Mississippi Regiments, African Descent. But many Northerners were skeptical about the decision to accept blacks into military service. The tide of public opinion quickly turned after heroic action by black troops at Port Hudson and Milliken's Bend along the Mississippi

Date Installed:: 2013 Organization that placed the object:: National Park Service. Photo or photos will be uploaded.: yes Related Website:: Not listed

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Date Logged Log   08/12/2017 Rattrak visited it