"you left off the first part of the quote"

I referenced it within the quoted material. What you quoted regarding weapons and equipment actually comes in the middle of the dated entry and has been quoted numerous times earlier in this discussion. I quoted the rest of the entry and added "[insert earlier quote]" to reference the previously cited sentences rather than retyping the whole thing.

"I have heard it said there were about 180,000black union soldiers. That's not a huge number, given the possible adult black males who could have seved. Is that all Lincoln could get, or all he wanted?"

According to the Adjudant General's Office, Bureau for Colored Troops, as of October 20, 1865, a total of 178,975 enlisted men and 7,122 officers served in the USCT. O.R., Series III, Vol. 5, p.138. Of those, 34,000 Free State blacks served, or 15% of the Northern free black population in 1860 (226,000). See Joseph T. Glatthaar, "Forged in Battle: The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers," p. 71 (The Free Press, MacMillan Inc. NY 1990). Interestingly, the 1860 U.S. Census has figures for white males of military age, i.e., 18-45, as 20% of the total population. Assuming for argument sake that the same holds true for black males, the 145,000 USCT from slave states amounts to 17% of the total slave population. Of course these figures are only for 1861 and would not reflect annual natural increase and decrease through 1865.

As for that being all Lincoln could get, Glatthaar discusses the challenges met by USCT recruiters in Chapter 4: Filling the Ranks of "Forged in Battle." Among the challenges in slave states were the freedmen's need to care for their families; competition with other departments who hired freedmen as laborers; unequal pay; racism and poor treatment; opposition to black enlistment by local and department military leaders; opposition by local civilians; and violence by guerrillas. See also Bell Irvin Wiley, "Southern Negroes: 1861-1865," (LSU Press 1974)