Free and enslaved African Americans participated in the Civil War. Black people, however, faced many obstacles in the struggle compared to their white counterparts. The first obstacle encountered by blacks was the “fight for the sake of fighting.” Blacks were initially rejected as soldiers in the armies of the Union and Confederacy. Whites defined the war as one between white men and were disinclined to include blacks in the fight. When a group of black Ohioans demanded the right to participate in the war, Governor David Tod of Ohio said, "Don't you know...that this is a government of white man; that white men are capable of defending power and protecting it? (McPherson 2008)” Other objections were that blacks were “too timid and would not make good soldiers,” and that white soldiers would not volunteer to serve alongside “savage blacks.” Additionally, others believed that if blacks served honorably, they would demand equal treatment in society. A Northern congressman said: "If you make him the instrument by which battles are fought, the means by which your victories are won...you must treat him as a victor has the right to be treated, with all decent and proper respect (McPherson 2008). » Black people enslaved by the Confederacy were created as body servants, cooks, orderlies, and gravediggers. Their labor was also used to build roads, erect fortifications, and transport war supplies. During this period, slave labor and punishments were intensified to increase production. Disciplinary procedures such as flogging and even death were used as “motivation” to keep slaves working. A Maryland owner "confessed that in August 1861 he murdered one of his slaves, Jack Scroggins, by whipping him to death for fleeing to federal justice... middle of paper... Bell had what. seemed an inexhaustible stock of negro plantation melodies… [and] a charming variety of Scottish ballads, which he sang with a voice of remarkable power and sweetness. Possessing the talents he possessed, I was sure that he had only assumed the character of a giddy and happy black man and that no one would suspect the calm and watchful detective, in the cheerful negro whose aim in life seemed to be about getting enough to eat and a comfortable place to toast your shins. "These spies managed to recover letters, plans, and overhear conversations about enemy details. African Americans fought for their right to participate in a war that would ultimately lead to their freedom and freedom They refused to stand by and watch the fight of a divided nation. Although they were treated unfairly and even inhumanely, they prevailed...