The Black Phalanx African American soldiers in the War of Independence, the War of 1812, and the Civil War

Excerpt: ...Island, Sept. 27th, 1863, Major Brooks, his Assistant Engineer, says: Of the numerous infantry regiments which furnished fatigue details, the Fourth New Hampshire Volunteers did the most and best work. Next follow the blacks, the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteers, and Third United States Colored Troops. Annexed to these reports is also a statement of the labor days of the troops. WORKING PARTIES AND HEALTH OF TROOPS. The total number of days' work, of six hours each, expended in Major Brooks' operations was, by engineers, 4,500, and by infantry 19,000, total 23,500; of the 19,000 days' work by infantry, one-half was performed by colored troops. In addition to the above, 9,500 days' work was expended in preparing siege materials for Major Brooks' operations. The infantry soldiers' days' work is about one-fifth what a citizen laborer would do on civil works. Of my work, over eight-twentieths was against Wagner, about seven-twentieths on the defensive lines, and nearly five-twentieths on the batteries against Sumter. Pg 284 The approximate amount of labor actually expended on the more important works is as follows: One emplacement for a siege piece, 40 days; one emplacement for a heavy breaching gun, 100 days; one bomb-proof magazine, 250 days; construction and repairs of each yard of approach having splinter-proof parapet, 2 days; a lineal yard of narrow splinter-proof shelter, 4 days; a lineal yard of wide splinter-proof shelter, 8 days; to make and set one yard of inclined palisading, 2 days. At least three-fourths of the manual labor was simply shoveling sand; one-half of the remainder was carrying engineer material. The balance was employed in various kinds of work. About three-fourths of this work was executed in the night-time, and at least nine-tenths of it under a fire of artillery or sharpshooters, or both. The sharpshooters seldom fired during the night. The artillery fire was most severe during the day. Thirty-five projectiles...