Throughout the early years of the war, many Northerners regarded the Civil War to be a “white man’s war”, but in March of 1863, several months after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, the North formed African American regiments. The Civil War was transitioning from a war solely about the preservation of the Union to one also concerning the Emancipation of the slaves. As African Americans were allowed to enlist by the federal government for the first time, the war shifted from being a struggle between white Americans over the fate of the Union to one where African Americans were active participants in the struggle for their own freedom, creating a sense of uneasiness among white Northerners as African American recruits were armed and sent into …show more content…
Behind the African American soldier in the foreground stands other African American soldiers, and the ridge in the background can be seen covered with figures, presumably other African American recruits also learning how to shoot rifles. The Union needed more soldiers, and the thousands of free African Americans and escaped slaves in the north could provide a valuable source of manpower. Indeed, “One Union official claimed that there were ‘enough contrabands in Fort Scott to fill up two companies’” (Lutz). In the lower left corner of the image a shovel and pickaxe are on the ground, reminding white Northerners that African Americans were a valuable labor force that had previously been put to use for the Union war effort in constructing ditches and fortifications and now could be used for extra firepower in battle. The pickaxe and shovel may also serve as an indication of the perceived roles white Northerners saw African Americans in, as manual laborers, and once the African American soldiers laid down their guns, a pickaxe and shovel would be ready for them to pick up again, ensuring the racist hierarchy of society stayed