Over ten percent of the Union Army and twenty-five percent of the Union Navy were African American, despite making up only one percent of the Northern population. Although barred from enlisting until July 1862—fifteen months into the Civil War—African Americans played a crucial and disproportionate role in the conflict. The Militia Act of 1862, signed by President Lincoln on July 17, marked a turning point. Free Black men in states like Illinois and New York began forming volunteer regiments, later fighting in major campaigns such as Antietam, Vicksburg, Gettysburg, and Atlanta.

On September 27, 1862, the first United States Colored Troops (USCT) regiment—composed of Black officers—was formally accepted into Union service. It soon saw combat, capturing Donaldsonville, Louisiana. Before the Emancipation Proclamation, regiments from Kansas and South Carolina also proved their effectiveness in battle. Following the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, the War Department began officially recruiting African Americans. The 54th Massachusetts Infantry was the first regiment raised under this directive. By the end of that year, General Ulysses S. Grant regarded Black troops as a “powerful ally.”

Earlier, on April 16, 1862, Lincoln had signed the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, freeing enslaved people in D.C. and compensating loyal Union slaveholders up to $300 per person—equivalent to nearly $9,435.77 in 2025.