Blacks in the Civil War At the beginning, middle, and end of the Civil War in the United States, Black Americans were central as soldiers and civilians. At first, people tried to get around this fact. Even President Abraham Lincoln's administration sent black volunteers home with the understanding that the war was a "white man's war." Policy was ultimately changed not because of humanitarianism but because of the Confederacy's prowess on the battlefield. The South brought the North to the realization that it was in a real fight that needed all the weapons it could get its hands on. The First Louisiana Native Guards became the first black regiment to receive official government recognition. Union leaders had initially barred blacks from participating in the war. Colonel Robert Shaw and his men of the 54th Massachusetts had to overcome fear, ridicule, and racism before they could fight. By the end of 1863, many thousands of blacks found work in the Union Army. There were approximately 50,000 black soldiers Although the black soldiers were promised 13 dollars a month, they were insulted with an offer of 7 dollars a month. Black soldiers and sailors became indispensable elements in a war that could not have been won without their help. The triumph of the Union forces was due to a number of factors, including Northern technology and the spirit of the age. But the most important factor was the contributions of slaves and freedmen who provided the margin of difference that turned the tide against Confederate forces in 1864 and 1865. According to official records, there were 185,000 black soldiers in the Union Army . Their mortality rate was disproportionately high, accounting for 21% of the total number of black soldiers. Equally visible and heroic were the sailors of the Union Navy. One in four Union sailors was black. They served on Union ships as coal stevedores, stewards, boatswains, firefighters, and gunners. Furthermore, the North was served by more than 200,000 civilians, mostly freed slaves. They served as spies and scouts. The most notable of all the Union spies was a woman named Harriet Tubman.