History of African Americans in the Civil War Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pockets, and there is no power on earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship in the United States. - - Frederick Douglass These words spoken by Frederick Douglass moved many African Americans to enlist in the Union Army and fight for their freedom.
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