“It is now becoming daily more evident to all reflecting persons that we are reduced to choosing whether the negroes should fight for us or against us,” wrote President Jefferson Davis to a friend in February 1865. Despite continuing opposition, the Confederate Congress passed a bill authorizing the enlistment of slaves as soldiers. The law did not guarantee emancipation for slaves who served under the Confederacy; their freedom would be at the discretion of their owners and the laws of their state of residence. The legislation was enacted too late to have any impact on the Confederate war effort.