Strike the Blow for Freedom, The 6th United States Colored Infantry in the Civil War

Military Images, Jul/Aug 1999 by Katcher, Philip

Strike the Blow for Freedom, The 6th United States Colored Infantry in the Civil War, by James M. Paradis. 203 pages, 11 illustrations. White Mane Publishing, 1998. $29.95

The stories of almost all Union regiments were saved in regimental histories written after the war by someone from the unit, often the adjutant, surgeon, or chaplain. Few such histories were written for the hundreds of United States Colored Troop units, however. The officers afterwards rarely claimed membership in such regiments with real pride, nor did they socialize with their former comrades in regimental associations after the war. The former enlisted men were too busy getting on with their lives and, in many cases, did not live near each other afterwards. Therefore a book like Strike the Blow for Freedom is a valuable addition to the literature of the war, especially the growing literature of African-American involvement.

It could not have been an especially easy book to write, as primary source material for such histories is far more difficult to find than for histories of the average white regiment. The author was lucky to find an extremely rare, out of print, memoir by one of the company's white officers, but otherwise has researched official records and accounts left in Philadelphia's black newspapers to produce a truly in-depth history. Not only does he describe the regiment's military actions, but, through accounts of individuals, brings the soldiers to life. He is, however, not one to disguise the warts, even noting the cowardice of the regiment's first color bearer. Begun as a graduate school project, the book is both sound history and an interesting social study that gives some insight into the differences between white infantry units and USCT units. The average Union soldier was 25 years old, while the average soldier in the 6th USCT was 23 years old. Due, perhaps, to better nutrition, the average Union soldier stood 5 feet 8 1/4 inches tall, while the average 6th USCT soldier stood only 5 feet 61/2 inches tall. The average Union infantry regiment contained a large proportion of students; there were no students in the 6th USCT. Not surprisingly, the largest single black occupation was that of laborer, which made up a small proportion of the average Union regiment. Most surprisingly, only 43 per cent of the 6th USCT were volunteers, while 31 per cent were draftees and 26 per cent were hired substitutes -- a far different picture than the average Union regiment, even one raised in late 1863. The author includes all these statistics and far more, including places of birth, occupations, and a regimental roster. Although slim, this is one of the most revealing regimental histories published in recent years. - P.K.