Monument to U.S. Colored Troops

There are more than 2,000 memorials, including over 700 monuments, dedicated to the Confederate States of America scattered across the southern United States. Although the Confederacy lost the Civil War, its legacy has endured for generations, in part due to these monuments. Overshadowed, if not completely obscured, is the role that African Americans from the South had in defeating the Confederacy. Their honor, duty, and courage in fighting to not only free themselves, but also to preserve the Union, have been sorely underappreciated by American society. To help rectify that, the Central Arkansas Library System initiated a project to develop a monument to honor the African Americans who served in the United States military during the Civil War. Spearheaded by Bobby Roberts, the retired longtime director of the library system, the effort was launched in 2023 when a committee of local citizens, historians, and library staff was formed to undertake the endeavor.

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, nearly one quarter of Arkansas’s population was living in bondage. The “peculiar institution,” as slavery was often referred to, was ingrained in many aspects of Arkansas life. The idea that one human being could sell and possess another was commonly accepted throughout the South at the time. According to the vice president of the Confederacy, the cornerstone of the Confederacy rested “upon the great truth, that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition.” Though many northerners opposed slavery, they also did not see Blacks as their equals and were in most cases just as prejudiced as southerners.

As the Union army advanced into southern territory in the early days of the war, it faced a dilemma in dealing with the thousands of slaves who flocked to its arrival. According to the laws at the time, runaway slaves were required to be returned to their masters. Union general Benjamin F. Butler saw it differently, however, and refused to return slaves who came into his lines. Butler labeled the runaways as “contrabands,” and stated that, given that the slaves had been used to advance the cause of the Confederacy, they were not entitled to be returned. His actions became official U.S. government policy in August 1861. One Union soldier serving in Arkansas noted, “The slaves seem to understand the matter very clearly and are on the alert to make escape by any opportunity.”

President Abraham Lincoln’s issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, not only freed, at least in word, enslaved people in the rebellious states, but it also allowed for their enlistment in the United States military. Shortly thereafter, units of African American troops started organizing in Arkansas. A Union soldier at Helena wrote, “They are very busy here now organizing a negro brigade. There are already several companies in camp drilling. I saw some of them drilling the other day. They seem to be quite apt to learn the maneuvers and take a good deal of pride in it.”

Nationally, 178,000 African Americans served in the United States Colored Troops and another 18,000 in the United States Navy. More than 68,000 of those men died in service, mostly from disease. Black soldiers fought in 449 Civil War engagements, including thirty-nine major battles. Eight infantry regiments and two artillery batteries of Black troops were raised in Arkansas during the war. Additional Black men from Arkansas served in the U.S. Navy.

According to Civil War historian Mark Christ, “More than 5,500 formerly enslaved Black men joined the Union army in Arkansas during the Civil War to fight for their freedom, contributing significantly to the Federal victory. Hundreds of those men died of disease and combat injuries during the war, a sacrifice that has been largely forgotten over the decades. This monument is meant to make modern Arkansans aware of the important role these freedom fighters played in the war, opening the door to opportunities that would have been unimaginable in 1860.”

You can learn more about the African American men who fought for their freedom during the Civil War on the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.