Docsteach: Black Soldiers in the Civil War

In this activity students will analyze a two-page poster that the Government used to recruit recently freed slaves to fight for the Union Army during the Civil War. The poster refers to the Emancipation Proclamation and to President Lincoln's General Order 233 to provide equal pay for black soldiers and equal protection if they were captured by the Confederacy and became prisoners of war (POWs). They will learn how the U.S. Government tried to appeal to black soldiers and consider the importance of enlisting black soldiers to the Union's victory.