What conclusion does the order MOST CLEARLY support?
A. Midway through the war, recruitment of black soldiers turned the tide in favor of the Union.
B. After the Emancipation Proclamation, the Union actively recruited free and enslaved blacks to fight.
C. At the outset of the Civil War, enslaved blacks fled the South to join the ranks of the Northern armies.
D. Following early losses, Lincoln realized he had to increase the size of the army through black recruitment.

Use the excerpt from War Department General Order 143 to answer the question.

I – A Bureau is established in the Adjutant General's Office for the record of all matters relating to the organization of Colored Troops, An officer will be assigned to the charge of the Bureau, with such number of clerks as may be designated by the Adjutant General.

II – Three or more field officers will be detailed as Inspectors to supervise the organization of colored troops at such points as may be indicated by the War Department in the Northern and Western States.

VI – Colored troops maybe accepted by companies, to be afterward consolidated in battalions and regiments by the Adjutant General. The regiments will be numbered seriatim, in the order in which they are raised, the numbers to be determined by the Adjutant General. They will be designated: " Regiment of U. S. Colored Troops."

VII – Recruiting stations and depots will be established by the Adjutant General as circumstances shall require, and officers will be detailed to muster and inspect the troops.

VIII – The non-commissioned officers of colored troops may be selected and appointed from the best men of their number in the usual mode of appointing non-commissioned officers. Meritorious commissioned officers will be entitled to promotion to higher rank if they prove themselves equal to it.

IX – All personal applications for appointments in colored regiments, or for information concerning them, must be made to the Chief of the Bureau; all written communications should be addressed to the Chief of the Bureau, to the care of the Adjutant General,