Black Americans have served in every one of America’s conflicts since the Revolutionary War. In the Revolutionary War, blacks served in an integrated army and helped free the colonies from Britain’s tyranny. General George Washington established a reward for “for any meritorious action,” known as the “Purple Heart.”
On December 21, 1861, Congress authorized the Medal of Honor, one of the most prestigious military awards, to honor soldiers in the Civil War. When the Civil War began, blacks could not be soldiers. Still, on March 2, 1863, Frederick Douglass sent out a powerful message in his newspaper, The Douglass Monthly, titled“Men of Color to Arms” that encouraged blacks to enlist in the Union Army; “better to die free than live as slaves.”
One hundred eighty thousand blacks were admitted to the Union Army, eighteen thousand were in the Union Navy, and they proved to be brilliant in the military forces. Twenty-six blacks earned the Medal of Honor, eighteen in the Army, and eight in the Navy. A majority of the twenty-six black soldiers won their medals at the Battle of New Market Heights (or Chapin’s Farm). It was one of the most defining and bloodiest battles of the Civil War.
The recipients of the Medal of Honor are true American heroes.