The Annals of the Civil War Written by Leading Participants North and South
Alexander Kelly McClure, Ed.

The Confederate negro soldiers never went into action. On March 30th, 31st, and April 1st, the Sentinel reports the enemy “massed in heavy force on our right,” cavalry skrmishes at Dinwiddie Court-House, heavy fighting on our right, tremendous artillery firing, pertinacious assaults upon Gordon, a great battle with no particulars, and then — the curtain descends for good and all, and there is no more Southern Confederacy, much less enlistment of negro volunteers and conscripts to do battle for it.

Would they have fought for it? If enlisted six months earlier would they have been able to turn the tide of defeat? Who knows? Who can tell People have before now both fought and voted to enslave themselves-people are doing the same thing every day. It is, perhaps, fortunate that the negroes were not enlisted in time to prolong the long agony of the Southern Confederacy.