When were blacks accepted to the U S Army?

Blacks were accepted in the United States Army from the very beginning. Soldiers of color were accepted only in certain states. Blacks were encouraged to join during the Civil War and participated in great numbers in the last 2 years of the war. Nearly all blacks were in separate regiments with mostly white officers.

The first black to graduate from West Point was Henry Flipper, whose Army career was ended by a framed trial and conviction. He was pardoned a century after his death.

By the time of the Spanish American War of 1898, blacks were considered highly desirable soldiers and were kept in Cuba when the white soldiers were too ill with yellow fever and malaria to continue the fight. Blacks were again in their own regiments. One such soldier was Benjamin O. Davis, who would continue in the Army until World War 2 and was the first black general.

However, when the United States entered WW1 in 1917, segregation was much stricter. Blacks who wished to fight were assigned over to French and British divisions where they were welcomed as equals. Several all-black regiments saw frontline combat with American forces including the Harlem Hellfighters (369th Infantry Regiment).

In WW2, blacks had very limited combat rolls in the navy and were generally limited to dock work, cooks, stewards, and janitorial work. In the Army, blacks were truck drivers, material handlers, medics, etc. There were black units that were placed into frontline combat (the 761st Tank Battalion, for example). The Army Air Force generally did not permit blacks in combat, but the Tuskegee Airmen were a notable exception, flying fighters in an all-black unit. In 1944-45, General Eisenhower asked for volunteers among the black non-coms to join the white units that were heavily depleted by casualties. More than 2,200 blacks gave up their stripes and agreed to fight as privates alongside white soldiers.

The Army was integrated in 1948. All-black units continued to exist even after integration until 1954.

Black officers remained rare until the end of the Vietnam War. During WW2, only 1% of black soldiers were officers. By 1983, that number had reached 8%. Today, 13% of black soldiers are officers.