AFRICAN AMERICAN STATE VOLUNTEERS IN THE NEW SOUTH: RACE, MASCULINITY & THE MILITIA IN GEORGIA, TEXAS AND VIRGINIA, 1871–1906 A Dissertation by JOHN PATRICK BLAIR Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Chair of Committee, Joseph G. Dawson, III Committee Members, R. J. Q. Adams Carlos K. Blanton Charles E. Brooks James S. Burk Head of Department, David Vaught August 2016 Major Subject: History Copyright 2016 John Patrick Blair ABSTRACT The continued presence of armed, uniformed black militia companies throughout the southern United States from 1871 to 1906 illustrates one of the highest achievements of African Americans in this period. Granted, following emancipation the nation’s newest citizens established churches, entered the political arena, created educational and business opportunities and even formed labor organizations, but the formation and existence of these militia organizations with their inherent ability to enter into violent confrontation with the society that surrounded them coupled with the heightened status and prestige they obtained as citizen soldiers firmly defines the pinnacle of achievement. Through a comparative examination of their experiences and activities as members in the state volunteer military organizations of Georgia, Texas and Virginia, this study seeks to expand our understanding of racial accommodation and relationships during this period. The existence of racial accommodation in society, however minor, towards the African American military is confirmed not only in the actions of state government and military officials to arm, equip and train these black troops, but also in the acceptance of clearly visible and authorized military activities by these very same troops. Further, the black militiamen themselves utilized these official displays to validate, as the nation’s newest citizens, their loyalty, discipline, and more importantly, their manliness within the public sphere. ii This study also investigates other matters connected to black state militia organizations, such as “colorism,” the level of privilege or discrimination based upon the shade of one’s skin. Did black men gravitate towards the leadership of lighter-skinned members of their community and was there a perceived amount of “whiteness” that not only contributed to the acceptance of the black militia by the larger surrounding white society, but played an important role in the flexibility of the racial relationships in these three states? The findings reveal complicated relationships between state government and military officials, many of them former Confederate officers, with the leaders of the black militia volunteers that varied across state boundaries. Furthermore, the results support the conclusion that militia participation by African Americans comprised an important component of the uplift movement centered on the manly ideal, and citizenship, and that legal actions giving rise to “Jim Crow” remained slow and, at times, made concessions to allow for continued black militia participation. These outcomes reveal that the expression of manliness by African American militia volunteers must be considered when attempting to understand why black military participation was terminated. And, both the continued African American involvement in state military organizations until the turn of the twentieth century offsets the stereotype of black engagement coming to an end in public, or political life in the 1870s in the South and challenges when and how to classify the so-called end of Reconstruction. iii DEDICATION To my wife, Jacqueline, who has been a constant source of encouragement and enthusiasm throughout this research and for all those times she sat patiently reading my lengthy chapters. To my mother, Barbara, even though she is gone, her memory continues to remind me of the importance of education in one’s life. And lastly, for all the African American citizen soldiers, named and unnamed, in this research who despite insurmountable odds worked to overcome the obstacles they faced to improve their lives—may their example continue to inspire future generations with their work ethic, positive attitude, perseverance and their appreciation of the value of education. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to recognize the local historians who, through their volunteer activities, collect and preserve the history of their communities. Individuals like Travis Holloway who quietly spends his time researching the contributions of African Americans in Augusta, Georgia, and who shared so freely of his findings. And, Reverend Charles L. Hoskins, who graciously drove across the city of Savannah to meet me and who welcomed me into his home where we spent an afternoon in his office discussing his published works surrounded by over thirty years of his research on Savannah’s African American community. And especially, Mary Lauderdale of the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia at Richmond who kindly opened her door to me even though the museum was in the process of moving into its new building, the Leigh Street Armory. Her kindness and willingness to share resulted in numerous other contacts and information that I would have undoubtedly missed. Next, I want to acknowledge those librarians and archivists who on a daily basis keep the records of our nation’s history safe and secure, and who are excited to share glimpses of that history with researchers such as myself. I’d like to specifically recognize Steve Engerrand and his staff at the Georgia Archives who responded quickly to my requests. I want to include a special thank you to Amanda Mros who assisted greatly in keeping me organized by coordinating between the older and newer versions of finding aids that I was using and by maximizing my time at the state archives by efficiently providing the next round of research materials. And, to Linda Pickering who v greeted me every single morning with a pleasant smile that set the tone for the day and contributed to an overall pleasurable research experience in Morrow, Georgia. A very special thanks goes to Francine Archer of Virginia State University’s archives. Even though she was the only archivist on staff, Francine provided a very high level of customer service not only during my brief visit, but afterwards in cheerfully responding to my photograph request. Her dedication, shared knowledge and enjoyable demeanor created a positive and successful research experience that should be a standard across the research community. I sincerely appreciated all of her assistance. Thanks also goes to my fellow graduate student Jared Donnelly who, during a long drive from a student conference in Lincoln, Nebraska, to Bryan, Texas, politely listened and provided solid suggestions during my discussion about expanding the earlier research that I had conducted on African American citizen soldiers. He promoted a renewed level of energy towards initiating and completing this project. I also want to express my sincerest appreciation to all the members of my graduate committee and to the history department at Texas A&M University. My committee members, Dr. R. J. Q. Adams, Dr. Charles Brooks, Dr. Carlos Blanton and Dr. James Burk listened patiently, allowed me to explore new ideas and provided positive reinforcement and steady guidance over the course of this research. The History Department graciously provided valuable research funding for travel to Georgia and Virginia on multiple occasions, allowing not only a detailed examination of primary source documents, but gave me the opportunity to make contacts in the local African American community. The ability to build relationships in person remains an vi important aspect of historical research that is often overlooked and it was these relationships with like-minded historians that provided sources and materials often undervalued and underappreciated beyond the confines of that area. Lastly and most importantly, I cannot say enough about my graduate committee chairman, Dr. J. G. Dawson, III. His breadth and depth of knowledge of U.S. and military history strongly contributed to the success of this dissertation as well as his ability to gently identify shortcomings in my writing that required further research or clarification. He served as an ever-eager mentor who rewarded good work with positive, constructive comments and the early morning calls on Saturday congratulating me on the argument presented in a chapter here and there served to only enhance my confidence towards completing this project. I believe his leadership and skill as a professor set the highest of standards. Every action, small and large, performed by him with me throughout this process is greatly appreciated. I only hope that one day I might be made worthy of his efforts. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. ii DEDICATION ......................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... x LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................