The prevailing attitude among Southern states and Confederate leaders was that black people were inferior and should not fight alongside whites. Moreover, many Confederate generals and politicians expressed fear that arming black people would lead to slave rebellions and disrupt the social order of the South.
However, some Confederate generals and politicians, such as General Patrick Cleburne, did argue for the enlistment of black soldiers to supplement the Confederate army's dwindling manpower. Some individual black men also fought for the Confederacy, often as part of artillery or engineering units.
It's important to note that the precise number of black Confederates is uncertain, and there is ongoing research to shed more light on this aspect of the Civil War.