Born between 1805 and 1811, Spencer Hendricks was a slave, six foot tall, very dark skinned, with one eye. Although owned by Wayne Henricks, Spencer was allowed to hire out his time and he eventually paid for his freedom. An ostentatious dresser, Spencer could often be seen wearing a Prince Albert coat and a high silk hat; without a doubt, he had quite a reputation in Russellville, (Logan County) Kentucky

 In 1971, May Belle Morton wrote an article about Spencer in the  Logan Leader --a Russellville newspaper. The sketch of Spencer had been dictated to Alliene L. Bell  by Harry Prewitt. Morton wrote of Spencer,   “He was a painter by trade and a member of the Methodist Church of Russellville, along with the white people. He was a devout Christian and lived by the Golden Rule. He had many friends among the white folks of Russellville, and elsewhere.” 

Not only was Spencer Hendricks social status unique but so was his role as drummer for Company A, 9^th Kentucky Infantry, nicknamed the Orphan Brigade. “He went through the entire war with this Company, and called all of them “his” boys. Before going into battle he always held a prayer service for them,” Morton wrote in the Logan Leader. According to the article, when six Logan County men where killed at the Battle of Shiloh, Spencer performed their last rites and buried  them in one grave.”  He died in 1895 and was buried at Maple Grove Cemetery in Russellville. Spencer would be considered what some historians refer today as a Black Confederate solider.

The role of enslaved Africans serving within the Confederate army is a subject of great debate and controversy.  J.H. Segars and Charles Kelly Barrow examine the controversy in their book written in 2001, Black Southerners In Confederate Armies: “On the surface the thought of black men and women serving the Confederacy seems beyond comprehension and reason, and is a vexation for many.  Based on modern interpretations of history, persons of color who served within Confederate units (termed in today’s vernacular as Black Confederates) are, indeed a paradox and this phenomenon contradicts much of what we thought we knew about the Civil War…and the South.”

But the paradox that Segars and Barrow describes does not come from merely a misunderstanding of the history of the South, but a misunderstanding of race relations in America today.  The very notion of African slaves joining forces with their enslavers to maintain the institution of slavery is very painful and down right ludicrous to most African Americans during the era and those living today.  Equally painful to many Southern Confederates (and their descendants living today) is that most enslaved Africans had no loyalty to the Confederacy or their masters, and were willing to take-up arms against their masters at a moment notice. Consequently, the history of slaves who served with the Confederate forces (either by coercion, ignorance or loyalty) has become clouded and real facts have often been romanticized or ignored in order to accommodate modern sensitivities.

However, there are certain facts that cannot be ignored.  Both the Union and the Confederates debated over the arming of enslaved Africans.  In general, it was the law of the South that no slave should be armed.  Whereas the Union accepted Black soldiers in 1862 and launched large scale recruitment efforts in 1863,  the Confederate government did not authorize the enlistment of Black soldiers until March of 1865 only one month  before Confederate General Robert E. Lee signed the war-ending truce at Appomattox.  Therefore, there seems to be no evidence that Black soldiers, officially authorized by the Confederate government, were used in battle. Does this mean that enslaved Africans were not used in the Confederate armies?  No!

Slavery was very much a part of the military labor force of the Confederacy.  Slaves were cooks, defense workers, teamsters, hospital attendants, ambulance drivers, and stretcher bearers, manufacturers of powder and arms, and ditch diggers.  In 1863, The Confederate Congress legalized the impressment of Blacks by Confederate authorities; however, some Confederate states had already passed their own laws regarding the impressment of slaves much earlier.

Probably the most interesting and under-documented position of enslaved Africans in the Confederacy was the role of body servant.  In the early part of the Civil War, many of the Southern volunteers who belonged to the gentry class, brought their servants to war. Since childhood, many of these men had been accustomed to personal servants to care for their every need. Within the Confederate Army the body servant was expected to keep the quarters clean, wash clothes, shine shoes, run errands, polish swords among other duties. The servant cared for his master’s horse and sometimes the body servants were called upon for their musical talents as in the case of  Spencer Hendricks.  Some of these servants were extremely loyal since the body servant usually was chosen from a line of slaves who had been associated with the master’s family for a very long time. Consequently, the slaves had misplaced loyalties; they had been conditioned to believe that their very humanity rested upon the acceptance of their bondage and devotion to their masters. In contrast, the master believed it was his responsibility to direct and civilize the slave. Together, the master and slave had a strange social contract held together by devotion stemming from ignorance, fear and violence.

Historical evidence suggests that the lure of freedom proved more powerful than the master/slave relationships, many body servants and slave laborers deserted their masters and the Confederacy and joined Union forces; others became spies and informants for the Union while pretending to be loyal to their masters.  Often slave loyalty was directly related to blood-ties; many body servants were actually brothers, sons, cousins, nephews of their masters.  For example,  Peter Vertrees, who was born in 1840 in Edmonson County, Kentucky, to a mulatto father and a white mother, was given to his white grandfather by his mother at the age of five.  In 1861, Vertrees joined the 6^th Kentucky Calvary as a bodyguard and cook for his half-uncle, Dr. John Luther Vertrees.   He was memorialized by the Sons of  the Confederate Veterans in 1986.

Did some of these servants’ pick-up arms and fight? Did some Southern planters arm their slaves to defend their property? Writings from the times suggest—yes. However, these isolated incidents do not justify a revisionist history which glorifies Black Confederate soldiers; after all most of these men served as slaves; few received pensions and most of their deeds are lost in history forever.