Analysis: An Act to Increase the Military Force of the Confederate States
"Analysis: An Act to Increase the Military Force of the Confederate States" delves into a legislative effort by the Confederate Congress in March 1865 to bolster its military ranks amid the Civil War's challenges. This analysis highlights a critical proposal by Congressman Ethelbert Barksdale, which aimed to enlist enslaved Black men into military service. The bill permitted the president to request the services of able-bodied enslaved individuals while maintaining the legal status of these men as property of their owners, reflecting the complexities of the Confederacy's reliance on slavery.
The controversy surrounding the bill is evident, as Congressman Williams Wickham expressed strong opposition, fearing that it would signify the Confederacy’s ultimate downfall. The legislation included provisions for the organization and usage of Black soldiers, stipulating that they be treated similarly to white soldiers in terms of pay and allowances. However, it also indicated a lack of confidence in slave owners' willingness to volunteer their slaves, allowing for state-level conscription under specific conditions. Ultimately, the act underscores the intricate relationship between military necessity and the preservation of the institution of slavery within the Confederate context, revealing the deep-seated beliefs about race and ownership that persisted even in dire circumstances.
Analysis: An Act to Increase the Military Force of the Confederate States
Date: March 23, 1865
Author: Barksdale, Ethelbert
Genre: law
Summary Overview
In March 1865 the Confederate Congress struggled with the administration of a faltering nation. Congress made adjustments to tax and financial policy, the organization of military commands, and how the government might extract scarce resources from a depleted countryside. On February 10, Congressman Ethelbert Barksdale of Mississippi rose to address the procurement of men for the army. He spoke in support of a bill designed to bring enslaved black men into the service. Barksdale laid out the bill’s provisions and carefully noted that any pay the slave soldier might earn could be paid to the master, should the master desire it, and that the bill should not be “construed to authorize a change in the relation which the said slaves shall bear toward their owners as property.” He added a jab at opponents, “are gentlemen unwilling to let the people have the privilege of contributing their slaves as a free-will offering to aid in repelling the savage foe?”
Congressman Williams Wickham of Virginia rose to oppose the bill. The veteran of many campaigns and battles with the Army of Northern Virginia, Wickham had a keen sense of sacrifices made for the cause. He declared, “the day that such a bill passes Congress sounds the death knell of this Confederacy,” and added “the very moment an order goes forth from the War Department authorizing the arming and organizing of negro soldiers there was an eternal end to this struggle.” Many of his compatriots grumbled in agreement.
Document Analysis
The preamble states the law’s purpose—to authorize the president to “ask for and accept from the owners of slaves, the services of such number of able-bodied negro men…to perform military service in whatever capacity he may direct.” In President Davis’ November 7 address to Congress that tentatively asked for the use of blacks by the military, he suggested 40,000 men employed in engineering and pioneering positions. The Barksdale bill permitted the president to use slaves however he wished, but was specific in declaring what everyone knew—the enrolled slaves were to be used as soldiers in the line. Section two directed the General-in-Chief (General Lee) to organize the enrollees into “companies, battalions, regiments and brigades,” the military formations of front line infantry units. The black recruits, further, were to receive the same allowance for clothing, rations, and pay that white soldiers received.
Section four of the law revealed that the bill’s authors had little faith in the willingness of slave owners to give over their property. Should the president “not be able to raise a sufficient number of troops,” he was authorized to “call on each State…for her quota of 300,000 troops.” In short, if owners would not volunteer their slaves, the law granted the states power to conscript them, so long as that conscription did not take in “more than twenty-five per cent of the male slaves…in any State.” This last provision meant to ensure that a sufficient number of slaves remained in the fields to produce foodstuffs for the Confederacy.
The critical Section five of the law showed nods to conservative sentiment. Whereas Davis, Lee, and the bill’s many advocates had endorsed emancipation as a necessary feature of the plan to bring black men into the Confederate army, Barksdale did not go so far. “Nothing in this act,” his bill stated, “shall be construed to authorize a change in the relation which the said slaves shall bear toward their owners.” Thus, the onus for motivating slaves into the army shifted from the desire of the slave himself for freedom, to the master, who may, or may not, consent to the freedom of slaves the master volunteered to the army. In all the ways the war had compelled Confederates to adapt to changes in slavery, and even consider its end, the notion that the most sacred relationship in slavery was the power of a white man over a black man, could not be touched.
Bibliography
Levine, Bruce. Confederate Emancipation: Southern Plans to Free and Arm Slaves during the Civil War. New York: Oxford UP, 2006. Print.
Yeams, Wilfred Buck. The Confederate Congress. Athens: U of Georgia P, reprint edition, 2010. Print.