Norton, Booker Reintroduce Bill to Award Congressional Gold Medal to the 200,000 African Americans Who Fought to Preserve the Union in the Civil War

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced their bill to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the approximately 200,000 African Americans who fought to preserve the Union during the Civil War. The bill introduction coincides with Black History Month.

African Americans served the United States in times of war since long before the Civil War. Yet, there was resistance to enlisting African Americans to take up arms at the start of the Civil War. On May 22, 1863, the United States War Department issued General Order Number 143, which established the Bureau of Colored Troops for the recruitment and organization of regiments of the Union Army composed of African American men, called the United States Colored Troops.

By the end of the war, about 179,000 Black men had served as soldiers in the Army, and another 19,000 Black men had served in the Navy. Black women were not allowed to formally enlist as soldiers or sailors. They were, however, allowed to serve as nurses, cooks, spies, and scouts for the Army and the Navy.

“Hundreds of thousands of African Americans who fought for the Union in the Civil War have largely been left out of the nation's historical memory, despite having sacrificed their safety, and in many cases their lives,” Congresswoman Norton said. “This bill will help correct that wrong and give the descendants of those soldiers the recognition they deserve. Thank you to Senator Booker for partnering with me in this effort, and for introducing the Senate version of the bill so early this Congress.”

“African Americans have laid down their lives serving in our country’s armed forces for hundreds of years,” said Senator Booker. “Though often overlooked or forgotten, the United States Colored Troops were vital to preserving the Union during the Civil War. We must honor their legacy and ensure their service and sacrifice are remembered as an integral part of our nation’s history. More than 150 years have passed since the end of the war, and this bill will ensure these American heroes are finally awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of their fight for liberty, equality, and justice.”

Norton’s introductory statement follows.

Statement of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton on the

Introduction of the United States Colored Troops Congressional Gold Medal Act

Today, I introduce the United States Colored Troops Congressional Gold Medal Act, which would award the Congressional Gold Medal to the African Americans who served with Union forces during the Civil War.  Approximately 200,000 African American men served in the Union Army and 19,000 African American men served in the Union Navy.  I am proud to present this overdue expression of our national appreciation for these remarkable individuals.  Senator Cory Booker has introduced the companion bill.

Since the colonial era, African Americans have served the United States in times of war.  While African American men served in the Navy since its establishment, there was resistance to enlisting them to take up arms for the Union Army at the start of the Civil War.  It was not until January 1, 1863, when President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, that the Union Army was ordered to receive African American men.  On May 22, 1863, the United States War Department issued General Order Number 143, which established the Bureau of Colored Troops for the recruitment and organization of regiments of the Union Army composed of African American men, called the United States Colored Troops (USCT). Leaders such as Frederick Douglass encouraged African Americans to enlist to advance the cause of citizenship: “Once let the [B]lack man get upon his person the brass letter, ‘U.S.’, let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on [E]arth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship,” wrote Douglass.

African American sailors constituted a significant segment of the Union Navy, making up 20 percent of the Navy’s total enlisted force.  Although there were rank restrictions on African Americans in the Navy before the Civil War, this policy changed after the establishment of the USCT, when the Union Navy started to compete with the Union Army for enlistment of African Americans.  Yet, in practice, most African Americans could not advance beyond the lowest ranks of “boy” and “landsman.”  In the Union Army, the USCT fought at Milliken’s Bend, Louisiana; in Petersburg, Virginia; and in Nashville, Tennessee, among other sites.  The USCT at first were paid less, were given used uniforms and poor equipment and could never become officers.  Many USCT were assigned as guards on fortifications throughout the Union, including the Defenses of Washington, which, by 1865, was one of the most heavily fortified cities in the world.  During the Civil War, African American women were not allowed to formally enlist as soldiers or sailors, though they served as nurses, cooks, spies and scouts for the Union Army and the Union Navy.

For generations after the Civil War, the contributions of the African Americans who served with Union forces were excluded from historical memory.  Not until Public Law No. 102-412, which I sponsored and which authorized the establishment of a memorial on federal land in the District of Columbia to honor African Americans who served with Union forces during the Civil War, were they officially commemorated.  The African American Civil War Memorial features a bronze statue of soldiers, an African American sailor and family, and is surrounded by The Wall of Freedom, which lists the names of the members of the USCT. 

Patriots and heroes who rose in service to a nation that would not fully recognize them, the African Americans who served the Union during the Civil War deserve our recognition for their contributions to the grant of emancipation and citizenship for nearly four million enslaved people and to the preservation of the Union. 

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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