Do you think that Douglas would know the true extent of Blacks in Confederate Service? Or do you think he was just making this argument up to promote the idea of enlisting blacks in Union service?

We in the south known of many examples of loyal Blacks fighting in the Confederate Army. The Sons of Confederate Veterans have Black members who have joined and who are welcomed in that organization based on their Ancestors service.

But, the discussion has always been to what extent that blacks served in actual combat roles? And was the black who drove a wagon really a soldier? We know that this doesn't fit with the templet that the war was fought to "free the slaves". Were their records surpressed by officials and historians after the war, so as not to muddy the waters?

Freeing the slaves and enlisting them in the Union Army was not an easy sell for those like Douglas who argued for these points with Lincoln and his adminstration. The Confederates also did not want the war to degenerate in a war over the slaves. They wished to fight on the premises of rights given to individuals and states under the Constitution. So they also were remiss in recording the race of those in their service.