Document Type
Thesis
Date of Degree Completion
Spring 2015
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
History
Committee Chair
Daniel Herman
Second Committee Member
Roxanne Easley
Third Committee Member
Rex Wirth
Abstract
Through the use of Union courts-martial records, this paper will examine the ways in which black women who had been assaulted by white men were denied justice in military courts. Although the Union Army was often perceived of as an army representing freedom and higher moral purpose, the court martial records reveal a darker side. They reveal that sometimes black women found no safety behind Union lines; rather, they found themselves victims of sexual violence by white men and had little recourse to justice. Although outwardly the Union Army was devoted to abolishing slavery, the inner workings of its courts reveal that black women, supposedly protected by Lincoln’s Lieber Code, were often sexually dehumanized by Union soldiers and military judges.
Recommended Citation
Hedgers, Kellie J., "Broken Promises: Rape, Race, and the Union Army" (2015). All Master's Theses. 141.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/141
Language
English