Ken,

You make it sound like The Confederate Army used blacks as human shields as policy. You trivialize the participation blacks played in the Southern army. When the ANV went into Maryland in '62 Ewell's Corps had over 3000 black soldiers in the ranks. Not teamsters and cooks but rifle toting soldiers. The armies in the South were less segregated than those in the North. Black soldiers in the South fought shoulder to shoulder with their white counter parts. I don't think there was an equivalent to the USCT in the South. You mention blacks used as cannon fodder. You must have the Southern armies confused with the Federals. Read up on The Battle of the Crater and The Battle of Fort Harrison. You seem embarrassed and apologetic of your Southern roots. We honor a famous black soldier in Petersburg every year at Blandford Cemetery. Richard "Dick" Poplar joined with the 13th Virginia Cavalry as a cook and ended up every bit a soldier. He was taken prisoner late in the war and spent 4 months at Fort Deleware before being sent to Point Lookout for 15 months. He was regularly offered his oath of allegiance papers but always refused them saying "he was a Jeff Davis man". When Dick died in the late 1800's his pallbearers were six Confederate officers.

Keith