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The article examines African American slaves' involvement in the military forces of the Confederate States of America during the U.S. Civil War through an analysis of military records kept at the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Efforts to actually enlist African Americans did not begin until March 1865, only a month before the war's end. The 1st Regiment Native Guard, Louisiana Militia was made up of free blacks but was not part of the Confederate Army.

The article discusses archival resources available at the U.S. National Archives Records Administration to researchers interested in the U.S. Colored Troops, the African American Union army regiments who fought during the U.S. Civil War. Some of the records discussed include those gathered by the Bureau of Colored Troops, the Compiled Military Service Records, and the U.S. Army pension files.