It is almost universally agreed among those who have studied the war in depth that many black men did serve in the Confederate army as cooks, teamsters etc. but also many picked up a rifle. That number is seems to be where folks split hairs, so to speak.
When my 3rd great-grandfather, Solomon Cole of Company F 8th Louisiana Infantry enlisted their muster roll shows a "Charles F. Lutz... Free man of color". There are many stories, too many for me to start on. I suggest reading Black Southerners in Gray: Essays on Afro-Americans in Confederate Armies edited by our very own Dr. Arthur W. Bergeron, Jr. There is another good book titled Black Confederates by Charles Kelly Barrow, J.H. Segars and R.B. Rosenburg.
Black troops marched with Stonewall Jackson and rode with Nathan Bedford Forrest. They deserve a better treatment in how they are treated by most folks. Just my opinion.
You can obtain Dr. Bergeron's book off our "Our Authors" page...