Archives Library Information Center (ALIC)

Military Resources: Blacks in the Military

African American Sailors in the Civil War Union Navy
A database detailing the lives and service of more than 18,000 men and women of African descent who served in the U.S. Navy throughout the Civil War era.

African American World War II Medal of Honor Recipients
No African American soldier was awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II. On 13 January 1997, President Clinton awarded seven men, six posthumously, the Medal of Honor for their exploits during World War II.

Black Men in Navy Blue during the Civil War
This article by Joseph P. Reidy appeared in the Fall 2001 issue of the NARA publication Prologue (vol. 33, no. 3).

Black Dispatches: Black American Contributions to Union Intelligence During the Civil War
This article appeared in the Winter 1998-1999 edition of Studies in Intelligence, a publication of the CIA's Center for the Study of Intelligence.

Documenting African-Americans in the Records of Military Agencies
An article by Lisha Penn from the Summer 1997 issue of the NARA publication Prologue (vol. 29, no. 2).

Exploring the life and history of the "Buffalo Soldiers"
Walter Hill, author of this article in The Record, and an archivist at NARA, writes about the black military presence during the Civil War period, and after the war, when the members of the 10th Calvary acquired the name "Buffalo Soldiers" during the 1871 campaign against the Comanche Indians.

The Fight for Equal Rights: Black Soldiers in the Civil War
This is a NARA "Teaching with Documents" lesson on Colored Troops during the Civil War.

The Lions' History: Researching World War II Images of African-Americans
An article by Barbara L. Burger from the Summer 1997 issue of the NARA publication Prologue (vol. 29, no. 2).

Preserving the Legacy of the United States Colored Troops
Documents and information related to the treatment of African American POWs in the Civil War.

Racial Identity and the Case of Captain Michael Healy, USRCS
An article by James M. O'Toole from the Fall 1997 issue of the NARA publication Prologue (vol. 29, no. 3).

Researching African Americans in the U.S. Army, 1866-1890: Buffalo Soldiers and Black Infantrymen
An article by Trevor Plante's from the Spring 2001 issue of the NARA publication Prologue.

Scartoons: Racial Satire and the Civil War
This University of Virginia site features political cartoons of the Civil War era.

The Truman Administration, and the Desegregation of the Armed Forces: A Chronology
(Truman Presidential Library)
Compiled by Raymond H. Geselbracht, Supervisory Archivist, Harry S. Truman Library from the Desegregation Subject Guide.
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