Use the excerpt from War Department General Order 143 to answer the question. What conclusion does the order MOST CLEARLY support? A. Midway through the war, recruitment of black soldiers turned the tide in favor of the Union. B. After the Emancipation Proclamation, the Union actively recruited free and enslaved blacks to fight. C. At the outset of the Civil War, enslaved blacks fled the South to join the ranks of the Northern armies. D. Following early losses, Lincoln realized he had to increase the size of the army through black recruitment.
B. After the Emancipation Proclamation, the Union actively recruited free and enslaved blacks to fight.
To determine the conclusion supported by the excerpt from War Department General Order 143, we need to analyze the content of the order itself. Unfortunately, you have not provided the actual excerpt from the order, so it is difficult to give a specific answer.
However, based on the given answer choices, we can make some educated guesses. Since option A mentions recruitment of black soldiers midway through the war, while option D talks about increasing the size of the army through black recruitment following early losses, it seems likely that the War Department General Order 143 supports the idea of recruiting black soldiers.
Option B states that after the Emancipation Proclamation, the Union actively recruited free and enslaved blacks to fight, which aligns with the possibility of black recruitment mentioned in the previous options.
Option C suggests that enslaved blacks fled the South to join the Northern armies at the outset of the Civil War, which is not directly supported by the information given.
Based on this analysis, the most plausible answer would be B. After the Emancipation Proclamation, the Union actively recruited free and enslaved blacks to fight. However, without the actual excerpt from the order, it is challenging to provide a definitive answer.