Though often fighting for a country that did not recognize their rights or even their humanity, African Americans have fought courageously in every American war. Even though they often knew they would return to civilian lives of limited opportunities and unequal treatment, they served their nation with conviction and distinction. This volume offers inspiring profiles of African American service people, from Crispus Attucks, the first casualty of the American Revolution, and the freedom-seeking Loyalists to the renowned 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry of the Civil War. From Buffalo Soldiers to the twenty-first century, readers will be thrilled. Also covered is the nation’s first African American commander in chief, Barack Obama.