How many slaves did the union have?
There were 3,181 slaves in Washington, D.C. Generally, it has not been recognized that in Southern states, along with the 4 million slaves, there were about 400,000 free African Americans. While they did not have equal rights, many were successful business people and some were extensive slaveholders themselves.
Every 10 years between 1790 and 1870, the federal government conducted a census that included a count of enslaved people in each state. In 1860, the government counted 4 million slaves.
By the end of the Civil War, roughly 179,000 black men (10% of the Union Army) served as soldiers in the U.S. Army and another 19,000 served in the Navy.
Although the attitudes of many white Union soldiers toward slavery and emancipation ranged from indifference to outright racial hostility, others viewed the issue as central to their participation in the war.
After the American Revolution, the Southern slave population exploded, reaching about 1.1 million in 1810 and over 3.9 million in 1860.
Despite promises of equal treatment, blacks were relegated to separate regiments commanded by white officers. Black soldiers received less pay than white soldiers, inferior benefits, and poorer food and equipment.
Directly or indirectly, the economies of all 13 British colonies in North America depended on slavery.
Roughly 20 percent of British North America's 2.5 million residents in 1775 was enslaved. But nearly all of those half million people of African origin lived in the southern colonies. In New England, for example, less than 5 percent of the population was enslaved.
Enlistment strength for the Union Army is 2,672,341 which can be broken down as: 2,489,836 white soldiers. 178,975 African American soldiers. 3,530 Native American troops.
Despite working tirelessly to establish a new nation founded upon principles of freedom and egalitarianism, Jefferson owned over 600 enslaved people during his lifetime, the most of any U.S. president.