One of the artifacts in the collection of the New York Historical Society was a Union Officer’s Sword presented to Philip Schuyler. I was unable to find the photo in the Historical Society’s online collection, and didn’t get a good photograph of it, but it was similar to this one. The minute I saw it, my mind flashed to the 54th Massachusetts in the Civil War. I reflected on how the officers were treated differently than the enlisted men in the African-American units. This led to thinking about other injustices suffered by men who had a right to fight for their own freedom. How they received less pay than white soldiers. 
How some units refused pay until they received the same as whites. How conditions were different. How uniforms and supplies never seemed to get to them, and if they did, the supplies were of inferior quality. How the African-American soldiers were not even issued firearms at the beginning of the war. How they could not become officers and had to serve under white officers. How, because non-commissioned officers had to stay with the men, they Blacks were allowed to be sergeants and corporals. We saw a photograph of a black soldier with sergeant’s stripes and, though an individual honor, it can be seen as another representation of the racism of the day.
I would lead my students in a questioning activity like the one we participated in at the New York Historical Society, leading them to the injustice that continued during the war even after the African-American soldiers were allowed to fight. The students could then research officers who led African-American units, their attitudes and what happened to them. This could give a better understanding for all about issues during the war and after, right up to issues of prejudice in the present day.
