Abstract/Summary

This article examines the responses of Union military officers to sexual violence committed by white soldiers against Black women and girls during the Civil War. This article centers on the resulting courts martial to examine changing understandings of race, gender, and sexuality during the conflict. Through highlighting officers’ interventions in trials, this article reveals efforts to balance military discipline with the moral imperatives of protecting vulnerable people. These cases illustrate the broader federal initiative to impose racial equality in military justice, though this project often fell short of true equity. This article also examines the challenges and stereotypes faced by Black women in seeking justice, emphasizing how their testimonies and the support they received from some officers marked a radical departure from the prevailing nineteenth-century social and legal frameworks. This shift underscored the importance of Black communities to the Union war effort and the broader implications for post-war racial and gender dynamics.