Stay updated with breaking news from Heroes union. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
The virginia sesquicentennial organized this hourlong event. Welcome back everyone. We are here in our fourth and final panel. I am joined by fitzhugh brundage, barbara gannon, and Thavolia Glymph we want to begin with a discussion of the scope and significance of the service in the u. S. Army of African American troops. Barbara, maybe want to get us started. Prof. Gannon u. S. Colored troops are more than anyone ever imagined. The u. S. Colored troops are federal volunteer units, theres over 140 of them of various times. They were a significant military force. Its interesting, at the beginning of the war, none of the white northerners would have ever imagined you would have had black northern soldiers. In fact, they turned many, many patriotic northern free men away. Its only the process of the war, the high discounts, sickness, and the fact that it didnt go well, that pr ....
Barbara, maybe want to get us started. Prof. Gannon well, first you have to understand the u. S. Colored troops are more than anyone ever imagined. The u. S. Colored troops are federal volunteer units, theres over 140 of them of various times. They were a significant military force. Its interesting, at the beginning of the war, none of the white northerners would have ever imagined you would have had black northern soldiers. In fact, they turned many, many patriotic northern free men away. So its only the process of the war, i. E. The high death count sickness, and the fact that it didnt go well, that prompted people to really think about arming African Americans. The emancipation proclamation was authorized. So you had over 180,000 troops which on one hand, people always say, well, there were 2 Million Union troops, but they came when they were needed. They were fresh troo ....
Underscore the wars bleakest battles while exposing and underlining that there are few winners and fewer heroes. Little glory. James the idea that the civil war really was its a kind of neorevisionism. It was useless because it didnt accomplish anything. Peter roughly 700,000 casualties. Is it worth freedom for africanamericans that some would say with second place . James it comes out of the skepticism about whether the civil war did accomplish a new birth of freedom. I think if one goes back and take a look at what the slaves themselves thought about the freedom, or even the native the nader is one black historian called it. Clearly that is better than slavery. If one looks back at what the slaves themselves thought about freedom in 1865, one of black historian wrote about freedom in the 1900. Clearly it was better than a slavery. In my opinion, the civil war accomplished a huge amount in terms of changing the direction of this country, largely for the better. Not that there werent h ....
You can read faster than i can talk so i wont read the slides. I want you to see beautiful places i love. They are history and parks and recreation and National Resources and frankly the lungs of the city are largely these forts and the parks. So there we start. As frank said the city was unprotected down below. This is Fort Washington. If you havent been there, you should go. Its quite different from the forts that were built during the civil war. After bull run, lincoln knew the city was vulnerable. Thats when he ordered director Major General john g. Barnard to design forts around the city to protect it. Here they are. These are the ones available there. It was quite an amazing feat to build all those. It was just tremendous. Here they are there. Ive circled them here on this old map, the ones that are under gover ....