Black Militia’s Formation Essay -- American History, The Civil War

In such a controversial period regarding the spread of slavery and state’s rights, the Louisiana black militia’s formation and involvement during the Civil War was not one without strife. The Union and Confederacy were both divergent in issues regarding the black population. It was only innate the black population would assist in the struggle which would determine their future to be free from subrogation. In order to review the history of the Civil War, it is only practical to view the involvement of black men during this struggle. James G. Hollandsworth, Jr. explores the social, political, and military aspects of the first, second, and third regiments of the Louisiana Native Guards during the Civil War. This topic of black militias is a rare narrative due to its lack of precedent over that of the white participants. The author begins with the Louisiana Native Guards representing the Confederacy during the siege of New Orleans and continues through the time of reconstruction. The basic initiative of Hollandsworth is to illustrate the discrimination of black soldiers by their white Union counterparts. By tracing some of the involvement of the Louisiana Native Guards during the Civil War, Hollingsworth is able to address some historical questions regarding the different sentiments towards blacks in the north and south. There are several smaller factors which Hollandsworth explores. One of these factors is the differences in sentiments amongst the white participants of the Union militias. The determination of the participants in the black militias is also exemplified to account for their devotion towards the conflict which surrounded the Civil War. Hollandsworth also explores the continued struggle and determination of the black... ...are that of superior authority, such as officers. Since a militia unit contains different hierarchies of participants, to contain the superior and not the inferior provides insufficient evidence on the topic at hand. In order to fully understand history, it is beneficial to gather information from both perspectives and all participants. A biased tabulation of history is compared to that of a victim and its offender. Historical events contain factual elements which may never be fully discovered, especially during times where documentation was some times scarce. Since history sometimes repeats itself, in order to learn lessons, one must identify all the elements which caused the initial conflict. Hollandsworth revives a portion of history which brings about a new perspective to his readers and with this a possible evolution in black military historical literature.