The Wars of Reconstruction by Douglas R. Egerton

Captain Luis Emilio wrote, 'When the usual request was made, it was refused on account of Swails African descent, although to all appearances he was a white man.' 4 White officers in the regiment, such as Lt. Despite emancipation and the disintegration of slavery, the basic idea that a Black man could lead White troops in battle struck at the heart of American racist attitudes. 3 While the 54 th commanding officer recommended Swails for a promotion to 1 st Lieutenant, racism within the military slowed the promotion for nearly a year.

During the battle, he rallied the regiment and retreating Union forces, receiving a serious wound. During the 54 th's heroic assault on Fort Wagner, South Carolina, Swails cradled the body of K company commander as he died and rallied the retreating regiment.Ī defining moment for Swails came at Olustee, Florida on February 20, 1864. Recognizing Swail’s leadership ability, the regiment’s young colonel, Robert Gould Shaw, quickly promoted him to 1 st Sergeant. They trained at Camp Meigs in the Boston area before heading to the warfront. Likely inspired by Douglass‘s recruiting drives, Swails and hundreds of African Americans from New York and Pennsylvania enlisted in the new 54 th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Douglass toured the Elmira area in the winter of 1863 as part of his recruitment tour. Massachusetts soon began recruitment for the 54 th Regiment, one of the first Black regiments of the Civil War, and enlisted the help of abolitionist leaders including Frederick Douglass to help fill its ranks.

However, the government prohibited their enlistment until the Lincoln administration issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which paved the way for Black men to serve in the military. 2 Swails shared the desire to serve in the war with other African American men who realized that it could radically change their status in the United States. Swails worked as a waiter in Cooperstown, New York in April 1861 when the Civil War began. 1 To avoid additional risks, Swails and his family relocated to the abolitionist center of Elmira, New York. In the years before his birth, Swails’ parents, freed persons from the slave state of Maryland, moved the family from the dangerous border state to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.įollowing the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, abolitionists and slave catchers frequently fought over the area. As a soldier, reformer, and politician, Stephen Swails showed commitment to equality, placing him at the forefront of radical change in American race relations.īorn in Columbia, Pennsylvania in 1823, Swails grew up in south central Pennsylvania and western New York.

The Wars of Reconstruction by Douglas R. Egerton