During the Civil War, thousands of enslaved Blacks deep within the South left their plantations, enlisted, and served there — in the South — as Union soldiers known as United States Colored Troops (USCT).
Were your African American ancestors enslaved in Southern states before and during the Civil War? Read more to find out if they served in the Union Army during the Civil War and learn how to discover details about them you might not have access to otherwise, thanks to Civil War service records.
Did you know?
- Thousands of Blacks (roughly 180,000)—from not only the North, but also from the South—served during the Civil War as Union soldiers. Union regiments of Black soldiers eventually came to be referred to as United States Colored Troops (abbreviated as USCT).
- More than half (52%) of Black Union soldiers or USCT were born, raised, enlisted and stationed in the South, i.e. in Confederate states, which included: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
Map Union, Confederate, Border states and territories during the Civil War
This color-coded map shows Union, Confederate, Border states and territories during the Civil War.
Table United States Colored Troops (USCT) Enlisted in Southern / Confederate States During the Civil War
| Southern/ Confederate State | Number of United States Colored Troops (USCT) |
|---|---|
| Alabama | 4,969 |
| Arkansas | 5,526 |
| Florida | 1,044 |
| Georgia | 3,486 |
| Louisiana | 24,502 |
| Mississippi | 17,869 |
| North Carolina | 5,035 |
| South Carolina | 5,462 |
| Tennessee | 20,133 |
| Texas | 47 |
| Virginia | 5,723 |
| Total from the South | 93,796 |
3 Ways to Find Out if Your Ancestor Served in the Civil War
1.) Search for your ancestor’s name in the U.S. NPS Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (CWSS) using its Search For Soldiers Page.
This Civil War Soldier database, created and maintained by U.S. National Park Service, has been transcribed from original documents in the U.S. National Archives.
2.) Fill in your ancestor’s name and location in the search form of the U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 database on Ancestry.com.
You can also search the NPS Civil War database at Ancestry.com
3.) Search for your ancestor’s name in Fold3.com’s Civil War Union Records for United States Colored Troops (USCT).
Civil War Union Records for United States Colored Troops (USCT) regiments offer valuable descriptive and biographical information about Colored Troops soldiers. This is especially true for soldiers who were former slaves. For instance, Company C of the 58th Regiment stationed at the Union fort in Natchez, Mississippi recorded “last owned by” information in the remarks section of their company descriptive records. The military records website Fold3.com
offers a variety of Civil War records, including these very Civil War Service Records.
Related reading: Nine at Natchez: The Remarkable True Story of Nine Former Slaves From One Family Who Became Civil War Soldiers (Rich Soil Press, forthcoming).