; chapter 201), were the first official authorizations to employ African Americans in the Union Army. (7) It was not until January 1, 1863, the effective date of the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Lincoln, that the Union Army was ordered to receive African-American men. (8) On May 22, 1863, the United States War Department issued General Order Number 143, which established the Bureau of Colored Troops for the recruitment and organization of regiments of the Union Army composed of African-American men, called the United States Colored Troops (referred to in this section as USCT ). (9) Leaders such as Frederick Douglass encouraged African Americans to enlist to advance the cause of citizenship. Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters, U.S. , let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on [E]arth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship. , wrote Douglass. (10) African-American sailors constituted a significant segment of the Union Navy, making up 20 percent of the total enlisted force of the Navy. (11) Although there were rank restrictions on African Americans in the Navy before the Civil War, this policy changed after the establishment of the USCT, when the Union Navy started to compete with the Union Army for enlistment of African Americans. (12) Yet, in practice, most African Americans could not advance beyond lowest ranks of boy and landsman . (13) African-American soldiers and sailors served with distinction, honor, and bravery amid racial discrimination and adverse circumstances, including the risk of enslavement and torture if captured. (14) Eighteen members of the USCT and 8 African-American sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest honor in the United States for bravery in combat. (15) For generations after the Civil War, the contributions of African Americans in the Civil War were excluded from historical memory. (16) Public Law No. 102–412 (106 Stat. 2104) authorized the