Black Men in Combat
Student’s Name
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Black Men in Combat
According to Taylor, black men who served in the U.S Navy during civil war endure discrimination and exploitation from the white soldiers. The black troop was not well trained because white officers believed that teaching them will taint their military record. General William Sherman’s even kept out black soldiers out of combat; they were armed with picks and axes and were assigned filthiest duties.
Black sailors were given hard duties like loading coal and tending boilers on the new steam-powered vessel. They served as steward of white officers who insulted them. Black soldiers received less payment compared to white soldiers, and in other cases, some blacks never received payment for their services in the military. The war department assumed that black troops would only work in construction, transport, cooking, and burial details and are not fit for the war.
White soldiers were the object of Taylor’s criticism. Taylor was suggesting her disapproval of black soldiers’ mistreatment and how northerner was opposing the attempt to enlist black troops. Taylor’s critique displays the racism that was in the U.S military and also in government. Lincoln tolerated how black prisoners were being mistreated.
According to Taylor, her criticism was to bring to awareness the sacrifice veteran soldiers paid in the civil war. She talks of the benefit the younger generation of black in the military enjoys as a result of the blood that was shed in fighting for liberty by the black veteran. Taylor urges the younger generation to appreciate the veteran for their selfless act and never forget their sacrifice and to remind them of how they cared for one another during the war.