I thught this article was quite interesting and controversial.

Blacks fought in the Civil War, surprisingly on the side of the Confederacy, many of them from Texas, Palestine historian Norris White Jr. said his research shows. They are the "black forgotten Confederates," White said, who has extensively researched the role of blacks in the Confederate Army for a book he is writing that will be titled Black Texans Who Served in the Confederate Army.

http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2012/09/historian-highlights-roles-of-black-civil-war-veterans.html