United States Colored Troops (USCT) were regiments formed after the Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was enacted in 1863. Members of the USCT were former slaves and free Northern African Americans recruited by Union officials and organized into segregated regiments. During the Civil War, about 180,000 African Americans enlisted in Union armies and more than 20,000 served in the Navy. Though they often proved their mettle in battle, USCT were subjected to discrimination by their white counterparts. They were paid less and were...