3. Slaves offered skilled labor the army needed
Southern plantations, especially the larger farms, were self-sustaining communities. When a plantation needed nails for new construction they forged them on-site. Laborers manufactured bricks and mortar, made barrels, shoed horses, repaired plows and wagons. Iron tires rimmed wooden wheels, manufactured in the plantation’s forges. Slaves provided skilled labor, as well as the simple laborers who supported the artisans. The 19th century armies of the Civil War required most of the same skills, both in camps and on the march. In the first year of the Civil War, local commanders called for volunteers from the nearby slave populations. Slave-owners who provided laborers to the army received compensation, though often in the form of promissory notes never redeemed.
Many slaves volunteered, seeking permission from their owners to answer the call. Often, they shared the motivations of the white, non-slave owners of the rural south. A desire to break the monotony of plantation life, t to see new lands and to experience adventure drove thousands of slaves to follow the armies. As difficult as it is to believe over 150 years later, patriotism provided motivation as well. Many slaves viewed the south as the only home they had ever known, and wanted to serve to protect it from the unknown enemy called the Yankees. By the summer of 1862, the number of volunteers for service with the Confederate Armies slowed to a trickle. The government in Richmond decided to impose a draft on both white men for armed service and slaves and free blacks for labor forces.