The Forgotten Black Soldiers Who Fought for America and Were Never Given Full Credit

 Black Americans have fought in every major war in American history.

They fought in the American Revolution. They fought in the Civil War, on both sides, though overwhelmingly for the Union. They fought in the Indian Wars. They fought in the Spanish-American War. They fought in both World Wars. They fought in Korea and Vietnam.

In almost every case they fought under conditions that were more difficult than those of their white counterparts. And in almost every case the rights and recognition they were promised for that service were delayed, denied, or delivered too late to matter to the men who earned them.

The Civil War

The 54th Massachusetts Infantry was one of the first official Black regiments in the Union Army. Formed in 1863 it was commanded by white officers but made up of free Black men from across the North who volunteered to fight.

On July 18, 1863, the 54th led the assault on Fort Wagner in South Carolina. They suffered devastating casualties charging a heavily fortified Confederate position. Their conduct under fire was widely reported and helped change public opinion about whether Black soldiers could be effective fighters.

What is less discussed is what those soldiers were paid. White Union soldiers received thirteen dollars a month. Black soldiers received ten dollars a month minus three dollars for clothing, effectively seven dollars a month. The 54th Massachusetts refused to accept any pay at all for over a year in protest of the unequal treatment rather than accept wages that acknowledged they were worth less than white soldiers.

The Buffalo Soldiers

After the Civil War the US Army organized several regiments of Black soldiers for service on the western frontier. They were given that name by Native American tribes they fought, reportedly because their hair reminded warriors of the mane of a buffalo.

The Buffalo Soldiers fought in some of the most difficult terrain and conditions of the post Civil War army. They had some of the lowest desertion rates in the entire military. They received fewer resources and lower quality equipment than white regiments.

The Tuskegee Airmen

During World War Two the military was segregated. The Tuskegee Airmen were the first Black military aviators in the United States Armed Forces, trained at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama.

They flew more than 15,000 sorties in Europe and North Africa. They won more than 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses. Their record in combat was outstanding.

When they came home they came home to a segregated country that would not let them vote in much of the South and where they could be denied service at a restaurant or a hotel.

The right to live with full dignity in the country they had fought for was not a reward they received. It was a right they had to keep fighting for after the war was over.

These men deserve to be at the center of American military history. Not in a footnote. At the center.

Robert Lee Beers III is a writer and digital preservation advocate based in North Charleston South Carolina.