African Americans enlisted with the 1st Massachusetts Infantry in May 1861 before serving with the United States Colored Troops as officers according to "Massachusetts in the army and navy during the war of 1861-65, Volume 2" By Thomas Wentworth Higginson (read book at the bottom of blog post). This dispels the falsehood that African Americans did not serve in the Union Army until the United States Colored Troops was organized. Click on link below to read entire article.