The American Civil War, Episode 12: The African-American Experience in the Civil War, & Andersonville

In this podcast episode, we examine the African-American experience in the American Civil War. Early in the war, Blacks were not allowed to fight, and Union Generals struggled with crafting policies regarding escaped slaves who were fleeing from the enemy's land. Eventually, African-Americans were given opportunities to show their value to the Union war effort, and they performed spectacularly. Unfortunately, the South refused to treat Black soldiers as if they were the equals of Northern white prisoners-of-war. Captured African-American Union soldiers were treated like runaway slaves and put into slavery. Therefore, prisoners exchanges came to an end, and the result was horrific prisoner-of-war camps like Elmira and Andersonville.