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Quiz about Fight for their Freedom The USCT in the Civil War
Quiz about Fight for their Freedom The USCT in the Civil War

Fight for their Freedom: The USCT in the Civil War Quiz


Little has been told of the regiments recruited from former slaves and free black men, or what they endured. Here are a few questions about the history of the United States Colored Troops and their actions during the Civil War.

A multiple-choice quiz by AlexT781. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
AlexT781
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
393,937
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
207
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. After the capture of Fort Sumter, there was a surge of enlistments from people of all ethnic backgrounds. However, African Americans were rejected because of what reason? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. The First and Second Confiscation Acts freed slaves owned by supporters of the Confederacy. However, these freed slaves were not actively recruited for combat roles until President Lincoln issued which executive order? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. On May 22, 1863, the Bureau of Colored Troops was established to oversee the recruitment of freed slaves in what would become known as the United States Colored Troops. African American enlistments surged, but they weren't the only minorities to serve in the USCT. Which other ethnic group enlisted in the USCT? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Before the creation of the United States Colored Troops, several states allowed African Americans to enlist, even though these regiments were not yet allowed to be mustered in to Federal service.


Question 5 of 10
5. African American soldiers who were unfortunate enough to be captured faced much harsher treatment than white prisoners of war. During what battle did Confederate soldiers massacre African American soldiers who had surrendered? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Approximately 200,000 African Americans served in the US Army and Navy, making up 10% of the total Union forces. Out of these, 40,000 died during the war. What was the major cause of these deaths? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. A total of 25 African American soldiers earned the Medal of Honor during the Civil War. An incredible 14 Medals of Honor were awarded in one battle during the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia. When was the final Medal of Honor for this action awarded? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. While there were thousands of African American noncommissioned officers in the USCT, the officers were all white. What punishment did the Confederate Congress authorize in 1863 for captured white officers of the USCT? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. At the Battle of the Crater near Petersburg, Virginia, an entire division of African American soldiers had been trained for weeks on how they were to assault the enemy line after the explosives were detonated. However, the day before the attack, General Meade changed the plan to have a white division make the attack. What was Meade's reason? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. The soldiers in the USCT had proven African Americans could fight as well as Whites, and were a precursor to the famed "Buffalo Soldiers" during the Indian Wars. However, Army units were still segregated until 1948, when which president ordered the desegregation of the military? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. After the capture of Fort Sumter, there was a surge of enlistments from people of all ethnic backgrounds. However, African Americans were rejected because of what reason?

Answer: A 1792 law prohibited them from militia service

The Militia Act of 1792 specifically said only Whites could be in state militias, thereby prohibiting free black men from state militia service, the main source of soldiers in the early stages of the war. The Militia Act of 1862 nullified the prohibition, giving the president the power to use African Americans in "any way he may judge best for the public welfare."
2. The First and Second Confiscation Acts freed slaves owned by supporters of the Confederacy. However, these freed slaves were not actively recruited for combat roles until President Lincoln issued which executive order?

Answer: Emancipation Proclamation

Officially known as "Regarding the Status of Slaves in States Engaged in Rebellion Against the United States", the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the Confederacy and made provisions for the former slaves to "be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places and to man vessels of all sorts in said service."
3. On May 22, 1863, the Bureau of Colored Troops was established to oversee the recruitment of freed slaves in what would become known as the United States Colored Troops. African American enlistments surged, but they weren't the only minorities to serve in the USCT. Which other ethnic group enlisted in the USCT?

Answer: Native Americans

While African Americans made up the vast majority of the USCT, many Native Americans, such as the Pequot, served in the USCT as well. Although most Native Americans served in Indian Regiments in the western theater, those living in the east often joined the United States Colored Troops.
4. Before the creation of the United States Colored Troops, several states allowed African Americans to enlist, even though these regiments were not yet allowed to be mustered in to Federal service.

Answer: True

Regiments such as the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry and 1st, 2nd and 3rd Louisiana Native Guard were organized during the first year of the war. The 1st Kansas was the first African American regiment to participate in battle on October 27, 1862, even though it hadn't been mustered in to Federal service.
5. African American soldiers who were unfortunate enough to be captured faced much harsher treatment than white prisoners of war. During what battle did Confederate soldiers massacre African American soldiers who had surrendered?

Answer: Fort Pillow

When Fort Pillow was forced to surrender on April 12, 1864, Confederate soldiers massacred the captured African Americans and their white officers and NCOs. The Confederate commander, General Nathan Bedford Forrest, who later founded the KKK, claimed to have no knowledge of what his soldiers did to the former slaves that fought against him at Fort Pillow.
6. Approximately 200,000 African Americans served in the US Army and Navy, making up 10% of the total Union forces. Out of these, 40,000 died during the war. What was the major cause of these deaths?

Answer: disease

Nearly 30,000 of the deaths were due to disease, while the remaining 10,000 were from combat. Disease spread fast through Union and Confederate armies, and was the main cause of death for soldiers of any race.
7. A total of 25 African American soldiers earned the Medal of Honor during the Civil War. An incredible 14 Medals of Honor were awarded in one battle during the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia. When was the final Medal of Honor for this action awarded?

Answer: 2001

137 years after the Battle of New Market Heights, Andrew Jackson Smith, Color Sergeant of the 55th Massachusetts Infantry, was finally awarded the Medal of Honor. President Clinton posthumously awarded Sergeant Smith the Medal of Honor on January 16, 2001.
8. While there were thousands of African American noncommissioned officers in the USCT, the officers were all white. What punishment did the Confederate Congress authorize in 1863 for captured white officers of the USCT?

Answer: Death

On May 1, 1863, the Confederate Congress passed "The Retaliatory Act", a resolution that considered white officers in African American regiments to be inciting slave revolts and leading their rebellion against the Confederacy, and declared the punishment to be execution after being tried by a military court. Captured African American soldiers were to be treated as escaped or rebelling slaves, and many times were simply shot while trying to surrender.
9. At the Battle of the Crater near Petersburg, Virginia, an entire division of African American soldiers had been trained for weeks on how they were to assault the enemy line after the explosives were detonated. However, the day before the attack, General Meade changed the plan to have a white division make the attack. What was Meade's reason?

Answer: Possible political repercussions if the attack failed

General Meade was concerned that it would appear the Army was using the African American soldiers as cannon fodder in the attack in order to minimize white casualties. Despite their weeks of training, the USCT soldiers were replaced by a white division that didn't know how to maneuver through the crater that would be created by the massive underground explosion underneath the Confederate lines.
10. The soldiers in the USCT had proven African Americans could fight as well as Whites, and were a precursor to the famed "Buffalo Soldiers" during the Indian Wars. However, Army units were still segregated until 1948, when which president ordered the desegregation of the military?

Answer: Truman

On July 26, 1948, President Truman issued Executive Order 9981, ending segregation in the US Armed Forces. However, it wasn't until the Korean War began that the military became fully desegregated.
Source: Author AlexT781

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