Editing Civil War Philadelphia (section)

== African American Soldiers ==

[[Camp William Penn]], established in June 1863 in Cheltenham Township just north of the city, became the largest training facility for United States Colored Troops in the North. Following the Emancipation Proclamation and the authorization of Black enlistment, the camp trained nearly 11,000 African American soldiers organized into eleven regiments. The camp's location near Philadelphia reflected both the city's large [[Free Black Community]], which provided many recruits, and the practical reality that white residents in many other areas resisted the presence of armed Black soldiers. [[Octavius Catto]], a prominent Black educator and activist, helped recruit soldiers and served as an advocate for their equal treatment.<ref name="taylor">{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Frank H. |title=Philadelphia in the Civil War, 1861-1865 |year=1913 |publisher=Published by the City |location=Philadelphia}}</ref>

African American soldiers from Philadelphia fought in significant engagements including the assault on Fort Wagner in South Carolina (immortalized in the film "Glory"), the siege of Petersburg, and the final campaigns of the war. They faced not only Confederate enemies but discrimination within the Union Army, including unequal pay until Congress equalized military compensation in 1864. Their service helped transform attitudes about race and citizenship, demonstrating that Black Americans were willing to fight and die for the Union and strengthening arguments for civil rights after the war. The legacy of the United States Colored Troops would inform the postwar [[Streetcar Desegregation]] campaign and other civil rights efforts in Philadelphia.<ref name="weigley"/>