The âicing on the cakeâ is an idiom that carries at least two well-known, related meanings. It means that a positive or negative situation has been made either more positive or nore negative by the addition of another factor. A positive situation, for example, might be enhanced by a second good thing, making it even better. Like many idiomatic expressions, the true meaning behind the phrase is more easily discerned by considering the context in which the idiom is said or written. Perhaps the positive meaning of âicing on the cakeâ is the more commonly used one. A person uses this saying when he already has something good, but another good thing comes along to make the first thing even better. Often, the âsomething goodâ is a situation, though it can refer to tangible objects, too.
By the time the war ended in 1865, about 180,000 black men had served as soldiers in the U.S. Army. This was about 10 percent of the total Union fighting force. Mostâabout 90,000âwere former (or âcontrabandâ) slaves from the Confederate states. About half of the rest were from the loyal border states, and the rest were free blacks from the North. Forty thousand black soldiers died in the war: 10,000 in battle and 30,000 from illness or infection.
By war's end, 16 black soldiers had been awarded the Medal of Honor for their valor. In addition to the perils of war faced by all Civil War soldiers, black soldiers faced additional problems stemming from racial prejudice.