Existing comment:
United States Colored Troops medal
1864
commissioned by General Benjamin Butler to honor black troops under his command
Less than a year after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 promised freedom to Confederate slaves, tens of thousands enrolled in black military regiments. By war's end, almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors fought for the North. Usually under white leadership, black troops fought in thirty-nine battles; 37,000 died in service. The Butler medal was the only one created for a black unit.
After General Butler was relieved of his command in 1865, the 300 black soldiers who had received the medals were forbidden to wear them on their uniforms. |