Document Type
Student Research Paper
Date of Creation
Spring 2025
Department 1
GLI History
Abstract
During the waning months of 1861 a joint operation between the United States Army and Navy forced wealthy white planters and Confederate troops from the Sea Islands of South Carolina. The Battle of Port Royal Sound, better known as the day of the “Big Gun Shoot” by the local enslaved population, marked the beginning of a new era; the transition from a slave society to a free one. Within months the liberating army expanded their footprint in the Deep South, moving inland toward the port cities of Charleston and Savannah. Limited access to additional troops, however, necessitated the recruitment of bonds people from the region, thus setting the tone for the emancipated doing the emancipating throughout what would come to be known as the Department of the South.
Copyright Note
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
Recommended Citation
Condon, Richard P., "We Are The War: The Evolution of Black Military Service in the Department of the South" (2025). GLI MA in American History Student Works. 9.
https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/glihist/9
Comments
Written for AMHI 641: The American Civil War.