They even received less pay than a white soldier would. Instead of the standard $13 plus clothing expenses, they would only receive $10 without clothing expenses.7.
When word of African Americans enlisting in the Union Army got out, the Confederate Army lashed out with many threats. They warned that Union officers recruiting and arming slaves were "outlaws" and would be subject to execution as felons when President Davis gave the order. And all "slaves captured in arms" would be handed to state officials.8.
These soldiers would be treated like fugitives and would face life imprisonment or the death penalty.9 However, this did not stop African Americans from flocking to enlist. It was hard enough dealing with the Confederates threats of execution, but African American soldiers were constantly being discriminated against by many of the white soldiers in the Union Army. They refused to consider the idea of fighting along side a black soldier.10 They said blacks were not equal and it would dishonor them to have to fight along side these Negroes. Because of this, hundreds of Union soldiers left the army.11 Black soldiers were subject to discrimination and petty harassment everywhere they went. Through it all, African Americans still lined up for enlistment. They never backed down and refused to show the white men their weaknesses. .
Some soldiers were treated well and trained well, but most were brutalized and discriminated against. Often some of the soldiers would say they were treated no better than the slaves they were fighting to free. Black soldiers were assigned the more menial tasks even on the battlefield.12 They were often subject to harsh whippings if commands were not followed. They received inferior equipment and medical care. Nearly twice as many African Americans died of diseases on the battlefield than the white soldiers.13.
Throughout the war, black soldiers fought for their rights to be treated equally.
