This is a lie:

This picture purports to show the 1st Louisiana Native Guards, a group of African American soldiers who served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. It’s been used in numerous places, including Youtube videos here and here.

The photograph has been used by pro-Confederate supporters for its propaganda value: the “fact” that blacks fought in the Confederate armed forces is viewed as proof that the South was not fighting the Civil War to defend slavery, but rather, for their freedom or “states rights”… or something.

THE HOAX

The problem with the photo is, it’s a fake. It’s a retouched version of this picture, which features a white Union officer:

The photo was taken in Philadelphia, around 1864. It was eventually used to make an illustration for a Union recruitment poster that was targeted at blacks (see the poster below, “Come and Join Us Brothers,”…