Brief descriptions of 6 African Americans who made significant contributions to the Civil War.

Marking the sesquicentennial anniversary of the end of the Civil War the Genius of Freedom exhibition, on view November 11, 2014–June 26, 2015 at the Library Company of Philadelphia, examined the strategies developed by Northern blacks to claim an equal place in the post-slavery nation. While Reconstruction battles in the South occupied much of the nation’s attention, African Americans in the North found that local laws and social customs often still left them on the fringes of citizenship and success. Northern blacks thus sought to empower their communities through political protest and uplift initiatives that emphasized equality, self-reliance and pride.

Buffalo soldiers were African American soldiers who mainly served on the Western frontier following the American Civil War. In 1866, six all-Black cavalry and infantry regiments were created after Congress passed the Army Organization Act. Their main tasks were to help control the Native Americans of the Plains, capture cattle rustlers and thieves and protect settlers, stagecoaches, wagon trains and railroad crews along the Western front.

Many people are surprised to learn that "Lift Every Voice and Sing" was first written as a poem. It was performed for the first time by 500 school children in celebration of President Lincoln's Birthday on February 12, 1900 in Jacksonville, FL. The poem was set to music and soon adopted by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as its official song. Today “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is one of the most cherished songs of the African American Civil Rights Movement and is often referred to as the Black National Anthem.