Keywords

Civil War, Black Military Service, Substitution, Drafting, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Autonomy

Subject Categories

History | Military History | United States History

Abstract

Historians have frequently emphasized voluntary enlistment as the primary means through which Black men entered military service, portraying military participation as an expression of autonomy and a pathway toward freedom and citizenship. Within this scholarship, few historians have examined how Black participation in the Union army as draftees and substitutes impacted Black men and their families. This thesis examines the role of drafting and substitution in shaping Black military participation in the Union Army during the American Civil War. By focusing on Pennsylvania's 8th United States Colored Troops (USCT), this study argues that drafting and substitution complicate the commonly accepted interpretation of Black service. The Union's conscription policies and substitution system disproportionately affected Black men, particularly formerly enslaved individuals and refugees from the South, creating pathways to service that were sometimes coercive rather than voluntary. Using military service records, draft records, substitute papers, census data, and other primary sources, this thesis analyzes the experiences of drafted and substituted soldiers within the 8th USCT. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are employed to map the spatial relationships between soldiers' birthplaces, recruitment locations, and Camp William Penn, revealing the extensive geographic displacement many Black soldiers experienced before entering military service. The findings begin to show the possibility that drafting and substitution frequently removed Black men from their communities and subjected them to geographically difficult pathways to service. By highlighting the experiences of drafted and substituted Black soldiers, this study challenges prevailing interpretations of Black military service and contributes to broader discussions concerning emancipation, citizenship, and freedom during the Civil War era.

Completion Date

2026

Semester

Summer

Committee Chair

Sacher, John

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

History

Format

PDF

Document Type

Thesis

Language

English

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