The participation of African-Americans in the American Civil War constituted a milestone in the struggle for civil rights in US history. One of the main reasons for the outbreak of the war was the election of Republican President Lincoln, who was in favour of abolishing slavery, which was the main economic activity in the southern states. However, African-Americans were excluded from the ranks of Union troops until 1863, when the 54th Massachusetts Black Regiment was established, composed of black soldiers but commanded by white officers. The regiment distinguished itself in its heroic action in the two battles of Fort Wagner in South Carolina, July 1863, in which hundreds of soldiers perished in brutal frontal assaults against Confederate troops. In the course of the battle, Colonel Robert Shaw, a convinced abolitionist who led the regiment, lost his life along with many of his soldiers; the episode remained etched in the collective memory for the great heroism of these fighters.

A total of 180,000 African-American soldiers served under the banner of the Union army during the Civil War, constituting about 10% of the total Union army. Initially, although they fought on the side of the abolitionists, they still suffered discrimination and different treatment than white soldiers. Their pay was $10 a month instead of the stadard $13 for white soldiers, and they were not employed in actual warfare for long, but instead served in the rear dealing with logistics, cooking, transporting supplies and building fortifications. It was not until 1864 that their pay was equalised to that of white soldiers and they were finally granted a legal status within the Union army equivalent to that of their white comrades. They distinguished themselves in battle by their tenacity and determination and their massive participation in the war events was a further reason in favour of the 13th Amendment in 1865, the law that abolished slavery for good.