Just my opinion. A lot of subject matter goes unwritten. In the Civil War, issues we today feel important do not show up in the writings. If a conservative number of black men, forget their status, say 1 man out of a hundred, were integrated into the confederate ranks as an armed participant, in an average size battle that would be about 300-400 men. That's about 1% of the total. This would be to me acceptable as a probability, using the known census records and practices of the day, but extremely conditional. I can't believe arming slaves was common practice but free blacks was. The history of it goes back to beginning of the nation, especially in the South.

How important was it to record and make mention that 1% of the Confederate army was black? None. Not to the overall importance of the day. I don't believe there were great numbers of blacks serving in the Confederate army. There are reports by Union officials of seeing them, in battle and on the march, but officially in the Confederate Army, no. I do believe that for whatever reason, Louisiana troops were identified as black soldiers by Union officers in several battles, and I don't know why.

I believe both sides in this debate go to far to prove their points, when in truth Blacks serving the Confederate Army, in what ever number, didn't have an impact to the overall outcome of the war.

David