You arm the freemen and make them the army.
The freemen might start using their new found freedom to be selective about their willingness to serve in wars. In short, they may start asking questions like:
1. Are black soldiers being seen as expendable in this war?
2. Was the war avoidable and pursued by political hacks after a military victory?
3. Can we count on the full support of union white units and are we treated equally off duty to whites?
4. If my family is targeted by guerillas, are they truly free to move up north?
5. If targeted, are they going to be allowed to readily relocate to say, Memphis?
The answers to the first two questions is “yes”. The second two is “no”. And the last question is “not really”. All of this is going to put a damper on the service enthusiasm of freemen. Successful anti guerilla wars need enthusiastic soldiers. Sure, the freemen will serve, but I doubt many go beating bushes for guerillas that are not an immediate threat to black communities.
Yikes, more difficulties for the occupation forces. Attempts (some successful, others not) by political hacks to arrest and execute former Confederate leaders in West Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland and Missouri have led to small scale, but annoying guerilla movements forming in these Union states. Due to local sentiments, using freemen units in these states is not viable. Some of the governors also state that they will not accept federal troops as they were union states. Local state troops have little enthusiasm for finding say, the group of riders kidnapping and murdering federal judges in revenge. A union general wants and easy solution, and he cant find one….. .
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