During the Civil War, approximately 180,000 Black soldiers served in the Union army. The families of these soldiers frequently camped in makeshift villages near the army to be near their husbands, sons and fathers. The soldiers assisted them as they could — sharing food and clothing from their own military rations when possible
Rape of Women
Slave women were constantly sexually abused by white men, and they had no legal right to resist that abuse. “To oppose the rape of Black women in effect meant opposing slavery. A Black woman’s body was not considered her own. Control over her body was passed from white person to white person along with a bill of sale.”
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Rape of Women
