Final answer:
Black labor aided the Confederate military primarily through manual labor and support roles, such as cooks and hospital attendants, with only a few instances of armed participation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Black labor significantly supported the Confederate military's war effort during the Civil War. African Americans served in various capacities within the Confederate states, mostly as manual laborers. Their contributions ranged from traditional agricultural tasks to roles such as cooks, musicians, and hospital attendants. In some instances, there are reports of blacks taking up arms alongside Confederate soldiers, as noted by Union Colonel John Gibson Parkhurst after witnessing blacks fighting with the Confederate armies during the battle at Murfreesboro, Tennessee. However, the enlistment of African Americans as soldiers was never a formalized or widespread practice within the Confederate military. It was not until March 1865 that the Confederate Congress, out of desperation, passed a law allowing for black soldiers to be enlisted, resulting in only a few dozen African Americans enlisting, mainly as Richmond hospital workers, and none saw military action