Existing comment:
In June 1862, Congress gave President Lincoln authority to recruit African-Americans into the Union forces. Approximately 180,000 blacks enlisted and served in the United States Army and Navy during the Civil War.
In March 1864, approximately four and a half years after John Brown's raid on the armory, the 19th United States Colored Troops marched through Harpers Ferry. Black Americans who had been slaves when Brown attacked the federal installation were now fighting on behalf of the United States government. |