After the War

Abstract

Even with victory in hand, northern black troops and their families had to wait longer for them to return home. While most white regiments were disbanded and their members mustered out, African-American regiments remained intact because their members had not completed their three years of service. The Union’s plan was for black troops to play a major role in the Union’s reconstruction of the South. Thus, black families would have to carry on long after the war had ended. Black troops worked to keep the peace in the defeated, resentful, and hostile South. In addition, black troops helped to facilitate the transition from slavery to freedom for the freedmen. The continued use of black regiments in the Union army forced their families to have to continue writing letters. What was different after April 1865 was that the goal of a Union victory no longer made sacrifices bearable for Union families.