Grand Contraband Camp - Contrabands Join The Union Cause

Contrabands Join The Union Cause

Many contraband slaves and free blacks voluntarily served in the Union Army, forming the U.S. Colored Troops (USCT). Some also became scouts, guides, spies, cooks, hospital workers, blacksmiths, and mule-drivers, contributing immensely to the Union war effort for the balance of the Civil War. Numerous Union officers became more aware of both the potential and plight of the contrabands, and worked for and made contributions to educational efforts for them, even after the War.

See also: Samuel Chapman Armstrong and William Jackson Palmer