Epilogue

Supplement to Endnotes​
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Endnote 6) In his closing comments during his 1864 court martial, Edwin Fox stated something curious and patently false:

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The men of that regiment are from the free black men of the south, the very worst and most mutinous men I have ever known. It was only by the strongest endeavors that we could keep them in their places. I considered myself doing my duty while making him obey orders.

 

The soldiers in Cole’s regiment were not “free black men” of the South, but men who had escaped slavery during the war. And as we learned from Robert Dollard's delusions, the soldiers did not behave like loyal, obsequious Uncle Toms. Many of them experienced a kind of slavery that defied northern depictions. Many of the men had learned crafts and trades.

      I wonder, though, if the men claimed that they had been free. There would have been motives to claim that they were free men. Doing so would give them a narrative to dispute ex-masters who were intent on reclaiming their slaves. More compellingly, the men would benefit from a new wartime policy. In June 1864 Congress agreed to pay arrears to all soldiers who had been free men before April 19, 1861. Men who were slaves at that time would not qualify for the retroactive pay. On August 18, 1864 Stanton released the general order, Circular 60, which directed commanders to secure solemn oaths concerning each soldier’s status before the war.  Fox killed Edwards in early August, and made this statement late that month, just as the crucial story behind every soldiers’ status as free men or ex-slaves became critical. (Fox court Martial, page 31, typed copy of trial.) On timing of order, policy shift concerning date of freedom, see Cornish, The Sable Arm, 191-193: see explanation of how black soldiers could claim they were free to increase their bonuses—may have been encouraged to lie, even by recruiting agents….

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STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION: THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE AS I FINISH BUILDING THIS THING...