We explore the roles of black women during the Revolutionary War and Civil War, the incessant dependency on their services and the persistent mistreatment and disregard of their very being.
With America against them, they still mananged to become pioneering women. Though they faced racial and gender discrimination, they persistently pursued opportunities to serve the Union. Besides, they weren't just fighting for the Union in the end. They saw these wars as opportunities to end slavery and to fight oppression.
Black Women in a White World
Trust black women, then show up for us
The times were not particularly friendly for most women, but they were especially challenging and cruel if you were African American. African American women were slaves, servants and often silenced by the hands of their oppressors. During this time, being black and being a woman proved to be crippling in its entirety. They were a perceived threat to most, useless to others and used for sexual encounters by many. To make matters worse, since they were not recognized citizens of the United States, any crimes perpetruated against them went unchallenged and overlooked. In 1855 in Missouri, a 19-year-old slave by the name of Celia killed her slavemaster after years of repeated rape and abuse. Instead of sympathy and help, the community called for her execution. Enslaved women were considered property and had no recourse. Some even went so far as to claim that white men could not physically rape blacks because they differed anatomically. This is just one example of the plight of the black woman: so much was expected of them---the highest expectation being that they should expect nothing back in return.
Black women during the Revolutionary War
Black women were limited in activity during the Revolutionary War in comparison to wars that were to follow. Still, they spied on the British and reported back to Colonial authorities. Often given empty-promises of freedom, they were innovative in ways to aid and appease their oppressors during wartime. Their roles often included tending to soldiers wives and their homes while others took care of the sick and wounded.
Black women during the Civil War
Black women faced formidable obstacles during the Civil War. The war was heavily dependent upon African Americans, mostly enslaved, and their support of emanicipation. Black women and black Southerners in general were overwhelmingly supportive of the Union, often escaping the plantation and forcing the Union to reckon with slavery. In the war, they fought exclusively on behalf of the Union---to ensure its' safety. In his letter to the citizens of Springfield, Illinois, President Lincoln himself stressed his motivation for the use of African Americans during this time---citing the Emancipation Proclamation as an example of how black Americans pushed the Union towards a full blown-war of emancipation. African Americans would fight as they'd agreed and he would keep his promise---as he'd agreed.
Black Men Before White Women and Everyone Before Black Women
In the 1860s, African Americans experienced hardships, discrimination and disparity as a whole. They fought for the abolishment of slavery and eventually were granted freedom. With this one 'win', they were still so many losses---suffrage being one of them. The fight to attain a vote was the fight for the majority of black Americans, but black men would somehow overshadow their fellow women and take the win alone. Black male suffrage seemed to take precedence over universal suffrage, given the political climate of the South. Frederick Douglas incessantly spoke on behalf of the ballot to promote black suffrage insisting that it was a “question of life and death” for southern black men, but not for women. Victories for black people were not necessarily victories for black women.
After the Civil War, female abolitionists expected equality for both blacks and women but were disappointed when the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments restricted the right to vote to male citizens. Many rightfully worried that political support for black men would be undermined by the pursuit of women’s suffrage. Universal suffrage though, still undermined the pursuit of some---what about black women? White women seemed to forget their own priviledge in comparison to black women and when confronted by black suffragists, women rights advocates Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (to name a few) seemed to embrace racism in order to advance their cause. In short---when white women meant women's suffrage they were mostly referencing themselves. Black women always seemed to be last despite putting everything and everyone before themselves. And their troubles did not end with the post-Civil War era.
Though the government and everyone else proved to be increasingly dependent upon black women during the Civil War, the Reconstruction era illustrated that black women could not depend on many (Josiah Benton).
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