[Tamaroa]

Brief history here, the first Black troops were actually raised by the Confederates, they were the 1st Louisiana Native Guards. They were captured, paroled and reenlisted into the Union Army, same name. Other blacks were enlisted in the Carolinas as they were emancipated but the first unit to achieve "famous" status was the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. The movie Glory starring Denzel washington is a fictionalized account of them. Its good but takes a lot of liberties.Other units of note were the 20th and 26th U.S. Colored Troops as well as the 10th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery. All in all, about 185,000 Black troops served during the Civil War.

Ironically, I just bought a book about the Buffalo Soldiers. Have not read it yet. There were two regiments actively recruited for Indian fighting. John J. Pershing actually commanded them and was nicknamed "Black Jack" as a result. His black troops actually fought in Cuba.

I will look up the particulars when I get home tonight. It was due to be about the 3rd book in line to be read, but I will jump it over the others to get you the info.

A few years ago Danny Glover made a movie called Buffalo Soldiers. I saw it and thought it was fairly good.

I know the info is sketchy, I'll try to give you a better idea when I read the book.

Regards,

Bill