A Brief History
On October 2, 1864, US Army troops fought Confederate regulars and Home Guard troops at Saltville, Virginia, a Confederate victory that ended in a massacre of captured and wounded Union soldiers.
Digging Deeper
As hinted at by the name of the town, Saltville is the location of a major saltworks. Salt was vital to the Confederacy for preserving meat used to feed its army. Another notable aspect of the battle was African American US Army cavalry playing a major role in the battle.
Union forces tried a dismounted attack on entrenched Confederate defenses, but CSA reinforcements arrived to preserve a Southern victory. About 50 captured Union soldiers, mostly wounded African Americans, were then massacred by Confederates outraged by the participation of Black troops against them. CSA policy was to execute captured African American soldiers or immediately enslave them regardless of their previous status as slaves or freemen.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Should US states be allowed to secede?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Trudeau, Noah. Like Men of War: Black Troops in the Civil War, 1862-1865. University Press of Kansas, 2024.
Willis, Deborah. The Black Civil War Soldier: A Visual History of Conflict and Citizenship. NYU Press, 2021.
