Uncommon Knowledge Related to the American Civil War and Slavery

I recently read an article titled "The Confederacy was a con job on whites and still is." You can read it in its entirety by clicking on the link. The information shared gave me a totally different perspective regarding this period of history. This led me to research other aspects of American slavery and the Civil War and I found out something quite interesting. The reality of the Antebellum era is quite different than what most people perceive. The following information brings to light some uncommon knowledge about this nation during the 1800s.

The majority of African slaves were not in America

There were a little over 300,000 enslaved Africans who came to America and even one slave is one too many. This was, however only about 4 percent of the total number of people captured on the Ivory Coast. The majority of enslaved Africans ended up in Brazil, and later the Caribbean.

Some slaves worked outside of plantations

One=quarter of enslaved blacks in the south did not work in the fields or the big house. These slaves worked in the manufacturing, construction, and lumbering trades. This resulted in lower wages for skilled white workers.

Many slaves were trained

We have been told of slave ships that brought human cargo from Africa to America but for some, there was a pitstop that had a significant purpose. A large number of African slaves ended up in the American colonies by way of the Caribbean, where they had been mentored, conditioned, and “seasoned” into the life of forced servitude. They spent months and even years recovering from the harsh realities of their journey through Middle Passage. Once they were broken in and became accustomed to slave labor, many of them were then brought to the plantations in the United States.

Slavery did not last 400 years

It is quite common to hear people say that Africans and their descendants were enslaved in American for 400 years. The truth is that using the date 1619 for when the first slave ships arrived and 1865 when the Emancipation Proclamation was read, this is only 246 years.

Not all white southerners owned slaves

Movies and television miniseries give the impression that all white southerners except those considered as poor white trash owned slaves. Only about 25% of those living in the south were actually slave owners.

Black Soldiers

African American slaves played a part in both armies during the Civil War. Some slaves were forced to work for the Confederacy in the gun powder plants where they encountered mishaps that caused the loss of limbs and sometimes the loss of life, One-third of the soldiers who fought for the Union Army were immigrants, and about one in 10 fighting for freedom was an African American.Black men who became Union soldiers refused to accept their salaries for 18 months, Thod was in order to protest their being paid much lower wages than the white soldiers.

Harriet Tubman’s Civil War raid

Harriet Tubman is known for the Underground Railroad which assisted thousands of slaves in heading North to freedom.. What may not be known is the fact that she continued her efforts in the midst of the Civil War by leading a raid. During the time of the war between the states, Tubman was a cook, nurse,scout, and also a spy for the Union Army. She had the distinction of being the first woman to lead an armed military operation, which was the Combahee River Raid, in 1863 in South Carolina.

This raid led to hundreds of enslaved men and women being freed from neighboring plantations. In February of this year, 2021, Tubman was rewarded for her bravery by being inducted into the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Corps Hall of Fame. I hope you have enjoyed these uncommon facts related to slavery in the US and the Covil War. If so please be so kind as to leave a tip which will be greatly appreciated.