Jim, very well said! I was going to read this entire thread but gave up.If someone has already posted something to this effect then I do apologize.
When Pat Cleburne made his proposal to free slaves and enlist them in the Army he was pretty much un-officially censured for this proposal. This was at a time when the CSA desperately needed manpower. So if at this point of the war, when the enlistment of Blacks would have greatly helped the AOT, the typical mindset of Confederate officers and politicians was " Not no, but hell no!" , how can someone come up with the idea that many blacks fought in the CSA? Does not add up.
Just because our ancestors had a veiwpoint that would be considered racists by modern standards does not mean we should be ashamed of them.They were a product of their time. BTW, I can tell you that my Yankee ancestors were extremely racist. Even though they had Quaker background and moved to Kansas during the 50,s. They may have been totally against slavery, but I can you for a fact that they considered anyone of African descent to be vastly inferior.
Chuck Lee