Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Confederate States of America. Congress Amendment to the Negro Soldier Bill

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC08979.09 Author/Creator: Confederate States of America. Congress Place Written: Richmond, Virginia Type: Printed document Date: February 14, 1865 Pagination: 1 p. : Height: 24.5 cm, Width: 15 cm Order a Copy

Confederate act ordering that "the General-in-Chief commanding the armies of the Confederate States be and he is hereby invested with the full and complete power to call into serveice of the Confederate States, to perform any duty which he may assign them, so may of the able bodied slaves with the Confederate States, as in his judgement the exigencies of the public service may require." He may conscript these slaves as soldiers, with or without their master's consent.

Confederate States of America, 1860-1870

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources