At Fort Butler, African Americans contributed to their own freedom by constructing the fortification and helping defend it. Captain James H. Ingraham of the 1st Regiment of the Louisiana Native Guards declared that they were eager to show that the latent courage of Africans was aroused and that, while fighting under the American flag, they could and would be a wall of fire and death to the enemies of their birthplace. The fort stood as a symbol of that contribution and sacrifice.